“Abstinence only education and character education in our communities is improving the quality of life.”
Project CHAT (Communities Hearing Abstinence Truth) is currently funded by the Department of Health and Human Resources West Virginia Abstinence Education Program. In 2006, Regeneration received funding to maintain programming in Ritchie County and to work on expansion projects throughout North Central West Virginia. We currently provide education in Ritchie, Marion, Doddridge, Harrison, and Taylor counties.
"We promote the fundamentals that abstinence is the only safe sex and is 100% effective from sexually-transmitted diseases, as well as emotional, financial, social, and psychological consequences,” explained Regeneration Executive Director Brad Riser
The Ritchie County Family Resource Network has previously supported Project CHAT and its efforts. Regeneration through a collaborative effort with the RCFRN now oversees the work.
Project CHAT begin in April of 2002, and since that time more than 30,000 students have been trained in not only Ritchie, but also Pleasants, Doddridge, Harrison, Taylor, and Kanawha, and Marion counties.
In Ritchie alone, we have seen an 8% decline in Ritchie County. Ritchie County, per capita, once ranked in the top five in the state for the highest teenage pregnancy rates. But is now down to 25th in the state of West Virginia. The program talks about decision making and focuses on good character (another program sponsored by Regeneration) to make the correct choice.
“We talk about respect, responsibility, honesty, integrity and good citizenship,” Riser detailed. “If our youth aren’t making good decisions in these areas, how can we expect them to make good decisions about sex, drugs, and alcohol?” Schools seem to be receptive to this message of truth accompanied by national and state statistics on teen pregnancy and STDs. Marion County recently began the program as well. Working with Regeneration staff, they were able to reach 3,000 youth in two days with the message of abstinence. In 2006, Regeneration received $110,000 in grants to continue this education.
Components of Abstinence-Only Education
- Has as its exclusive purpose, teaching, the social, psychological, and health gains to be realized by abstaining from sexual activity.
- Teaches abstinence from sexual activity outside marriage as the expected standard for all school aged children.
- Teaches the abstinence from sexual activity is the only certain way to avoid out-of-wedlock pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and other associated health problems.
- Teaches that a mutually faithful monogamous relationship in the context of marriage is the expected standard of human sexually activity.
- Teaches that sexual activity outside of the context of marriage is likely to have harmful psychological and physical effects.
- Teaches that bearing children out-of-wedlock is likely to have harmful consequences for the child, the child’s parents, and society.
- Teaches young people how to reject sexual advances and how alcohol and drug use increases vulnerability to sexual advances.
- Teaches the importance of attaining self-sufficiency before engaging in sexual activity.
Regeneration Inc. has also adopted the Josephson Institute’s model and supports the “Six Pillars of Good Character:”
Trustworthiness
Respect
Responsibility
Fairness
Caring
Citizenship
This framework is used in a variety of Regeneration's educational efforts.