To the Editor:

This letter is in response to the apparently heartfelt message about HiTOPS in the May 16 mailbox. Although I can empathize with the feelings of the four people who signed the letter about what is happening in our society, I must respectfully disagree with their opinions about HiTOPS “moral neutrality.”

As the father of three, stepfather to five, and grandfather of four, I am only too aware of the challenges of rearing children in a society where explicit sexual messages are in the media, in our movie theaters, in popular song lyrics, on the web and even in the news. It would be naive to believe that we can insulate and isolate our children from all of that. HiTOPS is not to blame.

HiTOPS does not “promote” or “encourage” sexual activity between teens as the letter-writers assert. The mission of HiTOPS is not to teach or preach morality, as the letter-writers would obviously like to see. That, in my opinion, is the responsibility of parents and religious institutions. What HiTOPS does do is to inform teens, who have already made the decision to become sexually active or who may become sexually active, how to avoid STD transmission and pregnancy. HiTOPS also provides contraception, pap smears, and Gardasil vaccines for young men and women against the human papillomavirus (HPV) which causes cervical cancer. Their other valuable services include emotional and psychological support services to fragile adolescent populations, including survivors of sexual assault and gay and lesbian youth.

If HiTOPS were to begin preaching and moralizing to the teen population that they hope to serve, the organization would come across as judgmental and sanctimonious. Doing that would cause its message to be lost on much of their target group and reduce the organization’s effectiveness. Rather than hand-wringing and sermonizing over the state of our society, HiTOPS is performing a valuable service to our community’s young men and women and their parents and has earned their respect. I also believe that HiTOPS deserves our community’s support.

Lewis A. Edge, Jr.

Cleveland Road West