Statewide Chair Mary McLellan Heritage Community Services Regional Chairs Mariscia Cooper (Pee Dee) Charlie Lybrand (Lowcountry) Lenna Neill (Upstate) Rev. Randy Riddle (Grand Strand) Dr. Roger Rollins (CSRA) Charlotte Valentine-Green (Ace Basin)   Advisory Council Eugene Bacote Darlington School District Dr. Vera Bailey Hilton Head Preg. Care Center Pamela Berry Colleton Fire and Rescue Dr. Vonda Calcutt Lowcountry Ctr. Diabetes Sen. Chip Campsen Charleston/Berkeley Rev. Chuck Coward Charleston Outreach Robin Crosby Colleton County Ligure Ellington Ret.Capt. Charleston City Police Dr. Randy Goings Chiropractic Physician Faye Hill Lowcountry Pregnancy Center & SC Association Pregnancy Care Centers WC Hoecke Fatherhood Practioner Leroy Lewis Upward Bound at Cof C Norman L. Moore, Jr. Colonel, USAFR(Ret) Cyndi Mosteller Comm. for Higher Education Alexia Newman Carolina Pregnancy Center Fred Payne Marriage Savers of Upstate Jerry & Barbara Seymour R& R Marriage Min. Ronald Shoupe Colleton County Dr. A. V. Strong A Better Way, Inc. (Gang Out) Dr. Robert Thomas Pulmonary Medicine Pastor Phil Thrailkill St. Luke UMC Hartsville Kelly Walker Upstate Fatherhood Coalition	Date February 17, 2011 SC Healthy Family Formation Coalition E-News! This month, a SC Dept. of Health (SC DHEC) press release announced that the number of syphilis cases in 2010 skyrocketed more than 200% in Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester Counties. “The increase is seen mostly among black men who have sex with men,” said Kathryn Arden, M.D. In addition, 25% of residents of the Tri-County area with syphilis also have HIV.  The only solution offered was…get tested. For parents already scared-to-death for their teens; why not tell us more? What age groups are affected by this syphilis/HIV outbreak? What Zip codes are affected by this outbreak? What middle and high schools or colleges in the Tri-county area are impacted? Is this another Lost Children of Rockdale County situation? Is this happening elsewhere in South Carolina? Should we increase efforts to promote condoms? Can we blame this outbreak on too much abstinence education? After making some calls and digging deeper on the SC DHEC website, I learned that 100% of the syphilis cases between January-October 2010 occurred among men (82% were African American), who have sex with men (MSM) compared to 75% in 2009. Charleston County accounted for almost 71% of the region’s syphilis/HIV cases, compared to 50% during the same time frame in 2009. I still do not know which age groups, zip codes or schools are affected. Greenville County was reported to have a similar syphilis/HIV outbreak in 2009. That’s all I know. Be sure to get tested… But, ‘getting tested’ won’t prevent you from getting the STD-it will only let you know if you have already gotten it so that you can be treated if possible and know not to spread it to others. Surely these men (and women) KNEW about correct and consistent condom use! After all, condom use has been the default message for almost 30 years, ever since the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the early 80’s created funding streams to promote so-called Safe Sex, Truth is, condoms have not turned out to be the panacea for STDs. They are at best 85% effective against HIV, but only when used correctly and consistently. Condoms are only 50% effective at reducing the risks of syphilis (and other skin-to-skin transmitted STDs like HPV, Herpes, and Chlamydia). And, they offer almost no protection for other sexual practices. Is this enough protection for you?   “Condoms don’t make sex, safe enough.” Dr. Joe McIlhaney, Medical Institute for Sexual Health As a parent, I am offended that this press release was not used to promote abstinence education for the public good. Most reasonable parents want their teens to hear about the benefits of sexual abstinence, an alternative life style choice. Since 1995, South Carolina’s Heritage Keepers®, an independently evaluated and proven effective abstinence education program has taught more than 250,000 students.   A year after the Heritage Keepers® program, students in the study were half as likely to initiate sexual activity as similar non-program students. At the same time, the Heritage Keepers® program did not interfere with students also hearing about Safe Sex from other sources. So, don’t even think about blaming abstinence education for increases in STDs! If anything, more sexually active students get tested because Heritage Keepers® encourages them to do so. What if this press release had been about tobacco, alcohol, drugs or obesity?  Scary reports with glaring omissions are just not enough to protect the public.   Follow the SC-HFF Coalition on Twitter! Join the Heritage Keepers® Facebook Cause
	The South Carolina Healthy Family Formation Coalition (SC HFF Coalition) is organized and staffed by Heritage Community Services. The SC HFF Coalition promotes child and family well-being by providing opportunities for statewide communication about such issues as: adolescent pregnancy, unwed childbearing, fatherlessness, sexual exploitation of our youth, dating violence and domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, gang activity and youth violence.    Coalition members support healthy family formation initiatives that integrate character-based life skills, teen pregnancy prevention with an emphasis on abstinence-centered education, and the importance of fidelity-within-marriage.   Together we can impact our culture so that forming healthy families becomes a norm, rather than the exception, for South Carolina. Please, forward this E-News to interested friends, family and colleagues and ask them to consider joining the Coalition. Join/Subscribe Unsubscribe PRIVACY POLICY: Information you share will never be sold, rented, or given to any third party. Contact Mary McLellan , Statewide Chairman (843)654-7740 ext.122