Born of frustration that lower-income students in Washington, DC had limited access to author and illustrator school visits, An Open Book Foundation<\/a> (AOB) enhances literacy by bringing authors and illustrators into Title I schools with a minimum of 50% FARMs rates and giving away their books to students, classrooms, and school libraries.\u00a0 Run by an eclectic mix of librarians, booksellers, lawyers, educators, and dedicated advocates for youth, AOB distributed more than 9,000 books to eligible students last school year over the course of more than 300 donated author presentations.\u00a0 Students often report that the book they receive from AOB is the first they have owned, and the intimate interaction between author and reader sparks interest in literacy that can be nurtured by a school\u2019s media specialist long after the visit.<\/p>\n Also serving young readers in metro DC, Maryland, and Virginia, The Reading Connection<\/a> (TRC) was founded more than 25 years ago by teachers who recognized that struggling readers among their housing-vulnerable students needed greater access to books and more exposure to modeled reading.\u00a0 Still the flagship of its now six programs for at-risk families, TRC sends weekly teams of volunteers into short and long-term shelter sites to read aloud to children, providing every child a brand new book of their choice at the end of each hourly session.\u00a0 By offering housing-insecure children the opportunity to engage over stories and build a home library of desired books, TRC supports literacy-rich environments among housing-vulnerable families.<\/p>\n An Open Book and The Reading Connection serve at-risk children locally, but, nationally, programs like First Book<\/a>, Dolly Parton\u2019s Imagination Library<\/a>, the recent Open eBooks<\/a> initiative, Reading is Fundamental\u2019s Books for Ownership<\/a>, and the Association of American Publishers<\/a> offer free or reduced cost books to children in need through qualified community resources, including schools.\u00a0 Youth services librarians of every ilk can work with community and school partners to encourage children to participate in existing literacy programs, and these national (or your own local!) initiatives may be untapped opportunities to support your at-risk readers.<\/p>\n By recognizing the impact of homelessness and housing vulnerability on families and your community, librarians can offer an invaluable lifeline to young readers.\u00a0 Homelessness is not a problem that librarians alone can solve, but if we extend the safe space of books beyond library walls and build on the work of other motivated advocates, these strategic community partnerships can go a long way toward enhancing literacy among at-risk youth.<\/p>\n In your community, you might try:<\/p>\n![\"Pigeon](\"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Pigeon-masks.jpg\")
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