Abstinence

Abstinence from sexual activity - it's the smart choice. That's the message being brought to young people by Heritage of Rhode Island, a non-profit founded by West Kingston resident Carol Knight in 2002. A federal grant for $1.2-million dollars in 2004 gave a huge boost to the effort, and Heritage is now spreading its message statewide. The organization is an outgrowth of Knight's work at Care Net RI, a crisis pregnancy center in Cranston. There, she says, she discovered that before becoming pregnant, most girls saw sex as a game, never contemplating the possibility that they might become pregnant or be infected by a sexually transmitted disease. Heritage Executive Director Christopher Plante notes that 10,000 people are infected with sexually transmitted diseases every day in the United States. That's 3.75 million people a year afflicted with STDs that include genital herpes, human papilloma virus, syphilis, AIDS, gonorrhea, and chlamydia. Twenty percent of Americans over the age of 11 are infected with genital herpes. Viral STDs such as herpes and papilloma viruses can't be cured, only treated. Since they are often asymptomatic, they are passed on unknowingly. For girls, infertility can be the permanent result. STDs are costly to treat; in 2003, $24-million was spent in Rhode Island on treatment, according to Plante. But most kids think they're immortal and they don't contemplate consequences. Knight learned as she worked at the crisis pregnancy center that no one had ever suggested to the teens that abstinence could be a viable alternative.Heritage is trying to change that. Knight recognizes that scare techniques don't work, and Heritage focuses on persuading teens that abstinence is a healthy choice. Their workshops focus on such issues as self-worth and making responsible choices, on helping young people develop a vision of what they want for their lives in the future.Heritage also has a Parents Make the Difference program that they present in schools, churches and various other locales around the state. Can those raging teenage hormones be harnessed? Heritage of Rhode Island thinks so. They are frank in saying that what they envision is another sexual revolution - with abstinence as the goal. It's a worthy one - and in today's "anything goes" permissive society, positively countercultural. For more details on programs and workshops, go to www.HeritageRI.org or call 921-2993 for details.