The following article copied from the Sunday, February 20, 2000
issue of The Daily Herald, Columbia, TN.

Abstinence education in
Maury County is working!
Volunteers needed to help get the message out

By Marvine Sugg
LIFESTYLES EDITOR

     Thanks to a program which began in Maury County in October 1997, recent statistics provided by the Tennessee Department of Health Statistics show that the local pregnancy rates decreased 4.3 percent from 1997 to 1998.
     This program, the Middle Tennessee Nurses for Health Education (MTNHE), is committed to providing medical information and realistic tools to help teens make better choices for healthier lives. Since October 1997, it has provided abstinence only until marriage education programs for pre-adolescents and adolescents in schools in Maury and surrounding counties.
Herald photo by Marvine Sugg
Suzanne Young (seated) executive director of A Woman's Place, Monteia Moore (left), program coordinator for the Middle Tennessee Nurses Health Education, and Suzanne Stroud, client service director for A Woman's Place, discuss plans for upcoming abstinence programs to be presented in schools in Maury and surrounding counties.
     The program is an outreach of A Woman's Place Pregnancy Center of Columbia (formerly the Crisis Pregnancy Center). MTNHE program coordinator Monteia Moore calls schools, sets up classes, talks to school boards and keeps everything moving, according to Suzanne Young, A Woman's Place executive director.
     "One of the initial goals of the organization was to help reduce teen pregnancy rates as well as lower the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases," said Monteia.  "It is exciting to see that this goal is beginning to be a realization. This is encouraging news and supports recent national statistics which confirm the validity and success of abstinence-education programs."
     Curriculum for the program is based on Tennessee Department of Education Standards and Objectives for Family Life Courses and approved by the Tennessee Department of Health Maternal and Child Division for Abstinence Education Services.
     Suzanne said she learned about federal grant money available to organizations willing to teach abstinence-only until marriage while attending an Abstinence Coalition meeting in Nashville in October 1997.
     The local Center applied for a grant which they received and the Middle Tennessee Nurses for Health Education was born. MTNHE is staffed with professional nurses who teach fetal development and about sexually transmitted diseases.  "We also have trained volunteers (not nurses) who teach character components - how to date, how to say no, and discuss the difference between men and women's perceptions," said Suzanne.
     The focus of the program is middle and high school students.  "We generally do not teach below the seventh grade," she said.  "In class, the students are separated by sex for sensitive subjects such as STDs and we also find that we get better feedback."
     Currently, classes have been taught in Maury, Marshall, Lewis, Perry, Coffee, Lincoln and Giles county schools.
     "We believe this program is Tennessee's 'best kept secret.' Volunteers are desperately needed to help get the message out," said Suzanne.  "Training will be provided.  This is not an everyday kind of job - volunteers do not have to be nurses."
     Anyone who is interested in volunteering should call 381-4024.
     In addition to the classroom, presentations may also be made to PTO groups, church youth groups, etc.  Requests have already come from New Life and St. Catherine churches to have the program presented to their youth groups.
     The program is presented in a classroom setting in a Variety of ways such as slide programs, videos, experiential games, demonstrations, and occasionally guest speakers.
     "We recently had a group of students from a school in Hohenwald do a musical presentation about abstinence for a school in Marshall County," Suzanne recalled.  "We also do Teen Health Fairs. 
     The MTNHE program has expanded and now offers a three day presentation. The "Day One" component reviews fetal development while "Day Two" presents medical facts and statistics regarding STDs.  Both days are led by nurses using informational dialogue, slides, videos, experiential games and other demonstrations.  "Day Three," the character component, is taught by men and women especially trained to present and discuss this information  utilizing videos, experiential games, demonstrations and guest speakers.
     Abstinence presenters include Shari Jones, Angie Brown, Suzanne Young, Marie Flood and Debbie Landers, all of whom are registered nurses, Mark Dillon, Trish Craft and Monteia Moore.
     According to statistics taken from surveys administered to students at the conclusion of the abstinence program: 
     -The total number of students to hear the abstinence presentation from September through December 1999 was 474.
     -The number of sexually active students taught was 121 or 26 percent.
     -The percentage of sexually active females was almost two times the number of sexually active males: females, 65 percent; males, 35 percent.
     -Of the total sexually active population, 68 percent said they would stop and commit to abstinence.
     -Seventy-three percent of the students who have heard the abstinence presentation have committed or re-committed to sexual purity.
     Funding for the MTNHE program is provided by a grant from Tennessee Department of Health and A Woman's Place.

FACTS ABOUT A WOMAN'S PLACE

     The mission of A Woman's Place is to help women in crisis pregnancy situations make an informed decision based on a biblical standard encouraging them in purity, hope and the sanctity of human life. It offers the hope of Jesus Christ to women in crisis, believing that when the woman is loved without judgement and helped in practical ways to overcome the obstacles she faces, the life which she carries will no longer be an intolerable burden, but rather a gift of God's love.
     Based on services provided in 1999, A Woman's Place:
     -Saw 575 clients in the office.
     -Performed 138 pregnancy tests; number of positive tests, 59; negative tests, 79.
     -Of those who tested positive, 90 percent chose to parent their child; 2 percent chose to place for adoption.
     -Eighteen clients were initially abortion minded. Of this number, approximately 10 changed their minds before they left the center.
     -Approximately 20 clients made decisions for Christ or professions of faith as a direct result of counseling.
     -Approximately 900 students in this area heard the abstinence message from abstinence presenters.
     -Distribution of clients served by age ranges: teenagers 87 percent; 20-29, 14 percent; 30-39, 4 percent; 40-49, 2 percent.
     A Woman's Place also offers a pre-natal class every Tuesday night which is open to the community.
     The Center annually receives funds provided by the Christian Motorcycle Association's  "Run for the Son" Motorcycle Ride, proceeds from the auction held during the annual banquet in November; and donations by several church congregations during "Sanctity of Life Week," which was celebrated Feb. 14-18.
     A Woman's Place is located at 119 Nashville Hwy. Suite 102 (in the breezeway of Northway Shopping Center).

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