HYPE Abstinence Education

Sexual abstinence is a challenging yet rewarding commitment.  HYPE, Helping Youth Prevent Engaging in risky behavior, is a Change Happens! abstinence program that provides youth with the information and skills needed to save sex for marriage.

The HYPE abstinence education program teaches children that abstinence is not impossible. Through a series of community-based workshops, youth are empowered to believe in themselves and to develop the necessary skills and network to fulfill the challenging commitment to abstain from sex until marriage. The program also educates parents on how to talk to their children effectively and how to support their child’s decision to abstain.  HYPE is open to Houston area youth between the ages of 12-15 and is especially inviting to young African-Americans.

Taking the abstinence approach to protecting teens from the potential dangers of pre-marital sex may be considered an aggressive one.  However, taken alongside the fact that 75% of newly reported teen HIV infections in Harris county for 2007 were among African-Americans, anything less than an aggressive approach leaves our youth and our community vulnerable