Our Vision 
Young adults living as ambassadors for character—becoming leaders and making leaders.

Our Mission
To empower young adults to THINK, leading them to focus on and improve the development of their emotional, mental, spiritual, financial and physical self.



Character is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as "attributes or features that make up and distinguish an individual." Our goal at Abstinence Between Strong Teens International, Inc. (ABSTI) is to empower at-risk youth through our character development curriculum that teaches youth character defining attributes as it relates to relationships, marriage and sex. When we focus on relationships, we are not only referring to romantic relationships between two individuals but we specialize in teaching youth how to maintain and flourish in relationships with their peers, parents, siblings, teachers, employers and many others. When we focus on marriage, we strengthen youth with character skills that will lead to successful marriages. Lastly, when we focus on sex, we educate youth on how to live a life of self-control and we empower them with skills that will equip them to successfully practice abstinence until marriage. 

History
ABSTI was founded in 1992 by Althea McMillan. Her passion was birthed by struggles she faced in her life at a young age. When she was only 16 years old, she became pregnant with her first child -- and guess what? It was only her first time having sex and she used protection! Through her tough journey, she was determined to prevent other young girls from experiencing this same struggle. This is why ABSTI was established. Since then, Ms. McMillan dedicated her life to serving at-risk youth. If you would like to read more about Ms. McMillan's story, you can purchase her book "The Stony Roads I've Trod" in which she shares her journey to abstinence.

For Parents
Research shows that nine out of ten teens think their parents should talk to them about waiting to have sex and that they would find it easier to wait if they could talk to their parents about it, yet many parents often avoid having this conversation. Many parents have fears and anxieties about addressing the topic of sex with their children while some just don’t know where to begin. Parents need help and support to overcome these fears and learn the best way to begin and sustain an ongoing conversation with their children. ABSTI serves parents through  the “Ready to Talk” workshop. This workshop is designed to provide resources, tips, hands-on activities, and multimedia components that support parents who want to open up the lines of communication with their teen or pre-teen about sex. The “Ready to Talk” workshop is based on an in-depth understanding of the attitudes, perceptions, practices, and decision-making processes of parents and their teens regarding sexual activity. Teens and pre-teens are ready to talk. Parents need to be equipped with tools and resources that can help them get the conversation started – Let’s get “Ready to Talk!”