HOPE Program

HOPE is a community-based youth development abstinence program based on moral principles and the word of God. The HOPE Program teaches moral values and life principles based on God’s word to the youth of our community.  It is an abstinence program designed to equip middle and high school students to make wise and healthy choices in their lives -- primarily in the areas of sex, drugs, and alcohol.  Implemented through the local school system, the HOPE program is a health education strategy designed to promote positive development that will transform students into more constructive and responsible young people.

The Mission of HOPE:

• Equip students to make informed life choices and to understand the benefits and/or consequences of their choices.
• Empower students to recognize the relationship connection between their body, soul, mind, and heart.
• Arm students with skills and knowledge that will give them a greater capacity to develop both healthy relationships in the short term and healthy marriages and families in the long term.

A Call to Action

With alarm over the high incidence of teen pregnancies and increasing cases of sexually transmitted diseases in the school system and Greene County, discussions began to take place among interested parties which included school nurses, county health officials, school administrators, community leaders, and other concerned citizens. In an effort to address and get a handle on the problem, HOPE came to Greene County. An abstinence program on which HOPE is based had been implemented in Rockdale County with a promising track record and high recommendations. Initially, surrounding counties joined with Greene County in applying for a grant to fund the project, which was not approved.  Not to be hindered, individuals who felt strongly about addressing the epidemic problem of teen pregnancies and STD’s, were led by God to forge ahead with HOPE, under the auspices of ATLAS Ministry, Inc.

An appeal was made to parents and the Greene County School Board to endorse the program and to allow its implementation in the middle and high schools. Parents overwhelmingly supported the program and desired its implementation in the schools. In August 2008, approval was granted by the Greene County Board of Education to implement HOPE in grades six through nine. In January 2009, the program was expanded to include grades ten through twelve.

Our Challenge

• Many of the children of today are suffering from a lack of parental guidance and supervision.
• Young people are becoming parents at an early age and do not possess sufficient parenting skills.  Teen pregnancy is on the rise and leads to an escalating and continuous cycle of poverty.
• Marriages, and two parent households, have become the exception rather than the rule.  Children are impacted negatively by the world’s music, literature, television, and movies.  All of these “information sources” present a false lifestyle that is seductive,  but leads to physical, emotional and spiritual destruction.  The countless false lifestyles and images being portrayed fail to show the detrimental consequences of engaging in the array of behaviors that are glamorized and promoted.
• The consequences are many, and far reaching, including an epidemic of teen pregnancy and the occurrence of sexually transmitted diseases at a previously unheard of pace.  Prior to 1960, there were two prevalent sexually transmitted diseases, syphilis and gonorrhea; in 2010, there are 35 sexually transmitted diseases. STD’s, many incurable, lead to ruined lives.

The Statistics

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC):

• Two thirds of all new sexually transmitted diseases ( STD’s) cases reported are among young people ages 15-24, many of whom have shown no symptoms of the disease.
• 3 million cases of sexually transmitted diseases occur among teens each year.
• The Department of Human Resources reported that in 2006 -- 21,685 STD’s cases were diagnosed in the 10-19 age group in Georgia.

Our Curriculum

HOPE’s curriculum was written by Mrs. Phillippia Cook Faust, RN, CAE, CCE, Adolescent Health Education, with The MATURE Project of Rockdale Medical Center, Conyers, Georgia. Mrs. Faust has a wealth of knowledge and experience working in the tri-county area of Dekalb, Newton and Rockdale with abstinence until marriage education for the past ten years.

Three teachers, trained in the HOPE curriculum, teach units at Carson Middle School and Greene County High School. The middle school curriculum focuses heavily on goal setting and developing a positive and healthy self image. Relationships, differences between males and females, and sexually transmitted diseases are key components of the high school curriculum.

For the 2009-2010 school year, 209 students were enrolled in HOPE classes at Carson Middle School for the first nine weeks and 176 for the second nine weeks. One hundred eighty one students were enrolled in HOPE classes at the high school during the first semester and 239 for the second semester.

HOPE Outcome & Student Testimonials

We have just completed our second year of teaching in Greene County Schools.  For grades sixth, seventh, and eighth, we teach one lesson per week for nine weeks. In the high school, we teach a fifteen lesson course during each semester.  A pre-survey (test) is administered the first day of class and then the identical questions (post-survey) are administered at the end of the course material.  The questions focus on attitudes as well as refusal skills related to sexual activity and other risky behaviors, including alcohol and drug involvement.  We have seen a remarkable increase in the number of “desirable” responses at the end of the school terms, and, for those who have now been through two years of courses, the results are even more encouraging and impressive.  The HOPE curriculum teaches “truth” and “consequences” of risky behavior.  Clearly, the students are getting information they have not heard before, and they are retaining it.  HOPE is a young program without a long history of “statistics”, but we are confident that we will see a substantial percentage of the students have positive life style changes.  Armed with the facts, we believe our youth can begin to make positive choices which will be beneficial to their lives and to the stability of their community.

What the Students are Saying:

"It means a lot to me because it shows us the teachers care and shows they don’t just give up on students.”

“It made me think about the consequences of having sex before marriage.”

“It has made me think more about premarital sex and waiting longer to have sex.”

“It has helped me drastically change my way of    thinking about life. I have made better choices.”

”As I’ve gotten deeper into the class, I’ve realized that sex can really mess up our lives.”

“Now I know how important it is to wait to have sex.”

“I thank HOPE for opening my eyes and helping me see the big picture.”

“I’ve learned what it takes to have a strong relationship so it can last.”

“I have taken a lot from HOPE classes. It has changed my thinking from sex being good and needed to sex not being needed and not normal until marriage.”

“I am learning what risky behaviors are doing to me and others.”

“The class means a lot to me to know that someone cares.”

Click here to see our HOPE Photo Gallery!