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Social Health Education (SHE) was originally founded
in May of 1917 as the Cincinnati Social Hygiene Society because of
concerns surrounding the health of the American soldier. Its primary
goal was to inform and protect community members and prostitutes infected
with venereal diseases, and to educate young people about sex as a
preventative measure. The agency has been funded in Cincinnati, Ohio
through United Way since 1919 as part of the Community Chest. Over the
years the agency has undergone change to reflect the needs of society.
In 1937 they provided support in a country-wide effort to eradicate
syphilis, in 1946 hired an African-American staff member to provide
sexuality education to the minority community, in 1980 prioritized the
educational program to focus on VD education, in 1984 began an emphasis
on life skills as they connected to Sexually Transmitted Diseases and
pre-adolescent sexual activity prevention, and in 1990 changed the
organization's name to SHE and broadened its focus to provide research
based information on various topics covering Sexuality.
Social Health Education offers a unique service to the southern Ohio and
Greater Cincinnati regions by providing the only sexuality education
program without a faith-based focus or political mission. The agency
officially achieved tax exempt status as a non-profit, 501 (c) (3) in
August 1973.
SHE's mission statement reflects its commitment to meeting the needs of
the community: "Social Health Education is a not-for-profit organization
dedicated to providing responsible, developmentally appropriate
sexuality education to children, adolescents, and adults in the Greater
Cincinnati area." The organization provides services to members of the
community between the ages of 9 (pre-puberty) and 20+ (young adults),
regardless of societal factors including ethnicity, gender,
socio-economic status, and disabilities.
During the 90 year history of SHE, its major funding source has been The
United Way which currently provides 87% of its revenue. The agency
focused on sexuality education projects and did not fund them
individually. However, SHE has been informed that in June, 2007 there
will be no more funding from United Way. This is occurring because the
United Way has decided to change their mission and focus on funding
programs to meet specific goals that do not include sexuality education
provided by SHE.
This is a crucial time for SHE as its board of directors consider how to
absorb the loss of major funding from the United Way and restructure the
agency in such a way that allows them to seek grant funds for specific
individual projects instead of overall organizational expenditures.
Efforts by the agency to provide continuous fact-based sexual
educational programs have been challenging given the current political
climate that continues to focus on supporting abstinence only programs
using federal dollars. The need for an agency to provide these services
outside of faith-based abstinence programs is imperative. Cincinnati
historically has been considered to have a conservative political
climate yet is faced with enormous social problems. This is evidenced
especially with ethnic and minority populations in the urban core and an
alarming increase in violent crime in the past 5 years. .
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