As students grapple with post-quarantine freedom, the Ohio Center for Sex Ed offers first annual summer camp

Cincinnati— The Ohio Center for Sex Ed is taking a holistic approach to Summer Camp. During a year of COVID-19 related quarantine, young people’s journey to social and emotional maturity didn’t stop. 

Socializing can seem daunting for many this summer as they prepare for a full-time return to school. Young people are gearing up to return to in-person normality and with it—they bring a year of virtual interaction and a plethora of questions for peers and trusted adults. 

That’s why the Ohio Center for Sex Education is stepping up to offer Camp MEE, (Movement, Enrichment, and Empowerment.) We recognize the right of all people to relationship and sexual health education that will help them understand, appreciate and take responsibility for their lives.  

This is a right Ohio seems to consistently miss the mark in addressing. Only 7.2% of students in Ohio received instruction in all 20 comprehensive sex education topics recommended by the CDC.  The Ohio Revised code does not include any requirement for sex education to be medically accurate or comprehensive. In addition, it does not require important topics like consent or gender identity be taught.

Southwest Ohio’s young people are not getting the sex education they deserve. We want to change that, and the need is more important now than ever. 

That change starts with initiatives like Camp MEE, that re-define what sex education is and can be. 

For the first week of August, students aged 11-14, respectively, can attend Camp MEE in the Cincinnati-area. Students will attend all-day sessions, with a range of community partners and speakers to cover topics that uplift campers and engage campers both physically with movement-focused activities and internally, fostering opportunities for self-reflection, personal development and social and emotional learning. 

Topics covered include:

• Relationships
• Internet safety
• Sexual health
• Nutrition and movement
• Consent
• Communication

“We’re coming together to offer a holistic look at sex education and foster feelings of empowerment to the young people in our area. That’s something nowhere near enough young people in Ohio are learning about. We want to make a Summer Camp that’s truly a safe space to discuss the things young people are thinking about—gender identity, things they see on social media, and anxieties about maturing. This camp is about empowerment. The kind [of empowerment] that comes from an opportunity to learn with others your age and affirm that what you feel and who you are is completely normal” 
Sarah Dahlston, Director of Education, Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio