Disclaimer: This article will contain discussions of domestic and sexual violence.
A new initiative is being introduced to the campus community meant to increase survivor support for anyone who may have encountered domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, stalking and more.
This new initiative is known as the Safe Haven Project.
“We want to make sure they have a nice space that is a safe space; a quiet space where they can get resources they need,” Harper said. “We know that in the event of a sexual assault on campus, or even a student that lives off campus,and is the victim of a sexual assault or is in a domestic violence situation, sometimes they need extra support.”
The project, which at the moment consists of a closet full of essentials, is set to be complete by the end of the semester.
The closet, located in the University Health Center, contains the essentials that a survivor would need in the case of either temporary or permanent relocation.
“If you think of it from the standpoint of if a sexual assault happens — whether it’s on campus, off campus — to one of our students, the immediate after [is that] they need somewhere safe to go,” Harper said. “They need toiletries; they need clothes; they need sheets and blankets. If it happens on campus, then that room is a crime scene.”
Along with those aforementioned goods, the closet also contains miscellaneous items such as contact solution, night lights, teddy bears, food and more.
The only people who have access to the closet are Harper, administrators on duty, deans Michael Gieseke and Keith Paylo and the University Counselling Center staff. Students who require the closet will gain access through a staff member with access.
“They have a nice checklist so they can sit with the student and say ‘Hey, what on this list can I go get you?’” Harper said.
“They come over, they fill a tote bag, and there’s resources. We have pamphlets that they’ll throw in there for survivor support and then they take back to the student, help them get all set up for the night,” Harper said.
Elliott Geary, President of It’s On Us, said they’re excited for the development of the closet.
“We’re planning to have a mural contest to have some student art up on one of the walls in the new reset room slash survivor space,” Geary said.
The new room will replace a storage closet on the third floor of the Student Center.
It’s On Us staff are going through training for being properly informed and also training with Pittsburgh Action Against Rape (PAAR).
“I think it’s going to get to the stage we really wanted to get to this year of just having a group of people who reliably can go together and create a safe space for each other,” Geary said.
