Grantee Name
Queens Library Foundation, Inc.
Funding Area
Special Projects Fund
Publication Date
November 2011
Grant Amount
$200,000
Grant Date:
January 1, 2008 – May 17, 2010
DOWNLOAD FULL REPORTImmigrants and American-born individuals with low literacy skills are among those nationwide who experience the harmful consequences of low health literacy.
According to the Queens Library Foundation, the borough of Queens, New York is home to more than one million foreign-born residents who speak 161 distinct languages. Nearly 300,000 residents speak English “not well” or “not at all.” These new immigrants are among the most vulnerable in the health care system. In January 2008, the New York Health Foundation (NYHealth) awarded a $200,000 grant to support the Queens Library Foundation in institutionalizing a health literacy program that had been started with funding from the Langeloth Foundation. Know Better-Feel Better targets low-level English language learners – those who begin with little or no English skills. Queens Library knows of no other such curriculum nationwide for this population.
Throughout the grant period, the Queens Library Adult Learner Beginning Level Health Literacy Curriculum was distributed at conferences and via online links. Lesson plans, accompanying student worksheets, and audio files are online and freely available to the public.