Description
Founded in 1943, Social Health Association provides in-school health education programs. SHA's place as a community leader in sexuality instruction is recognized by six decades as the only agency funded by United Way of Central Indiana to provide school based sexuality education and reaching all counties served by UWCI. SHA provides programs for children in grades 1-8 that promote physical, emotional and social health and well-being. At present, SHA serves more than 36,000 school-age children in Indiana. SHA's degreed teachers provide classroom instruction in 1.) Human Growth & Development, 2). HIV/AIDS and other STDs, and 3). Life Skills, which promote conflict resolution, peer resistance, and valuing self and others. For more than six decades, Social Health Association (SHA), has served the community by providing educational programming to promote healthy behaviors and positive choices. We define Social Health as one of three areas that defines a personal total Health (others being Physical Health and Mental Health). Social health covers the issues of peer relationships, interpersonal communication, relationship violence, and conflict resolution, family relationships, sexuality, HIV/AIDS, and to fight the spread of STDs, including HIV. In recent years, classroom instruction has also included modules in life skills instruction to help students develop skills in personal safety and peer resistance. The majority of our life skills instruction revolves around bullying, sexual harassment, and most recently, internet bullying.
As a total agency, the vast majority of Social Health's programs take place within the classroom where nearly 36,000 students will have been instructed during this school year. An after-school effort reaches several hundred additional students with a particular emphasis on personal safety and bully prevention. Parent training sessions will attract nearly 5,000 parents this year alone, while an additional group of several hundred educators will receive professional development training from SHA staff members.
