Checking in on SSARA

Student Sexual Assault Response Assistance (SSARA) organization, formed two years ago, provides counseling and support to members of the University community who have experienced rape, assault and/or abuse by selected student volunteers.

The program was first implemented when the women's center received a grant from the Department of Justice. According to Peggy Barrett of the Women's Center, it was decided that the Rape Crisis and Recovery course offered on campus could be supplemented by certifying students as counselors to serve the Tufts community.

Has SSARA been a success? Results are mixed. While the staff is dedicated and organized, students are not as aware of the program's existence as Health Services would like them to be, and not all those who have called the hotline received the guidance they hoped for.

Sophomore Hilary Wentz, who currently works as a volunteer assistant for SSARA, says that she gained interest in becoming involved with SSARA after learning about the program during her freshman year orientation. She decided to take the course and became certified as a rape crisis counselor, which then gave her the opportunity to apply for a position as an assistant. Thus far, her participation in SSARA has been "a wonderful experience."

One student who used the service said that the program has been extremely helpful, providing both counseling and references to other resources and organizations.

"It is extremely comforting to know that there is a resource right here on campus that is kept confidential, to help students cope with difficult and even traumatizing situations," the student said.

Although the program has only been functioning for two years, "people are very interested in being part of it," Barrett said.

As far as the community's awareness of the program, Barrett and Wentz both asserted that advertising is the most effective means of heightening awareness and knowledge, and hopefully subsequent utilization of the program. The program is first introduced to students during orientation their freshman year, and later pamphlets are periodically distributed to remind students about the program. The advertising campaign has also included printing information about SSARA on everyday items that students would have around their rooms, such as key chains.

"I know that the program exists, but I have not seen any posters advertising it this year," sophomore Nina Soares said.

The most recent forms of publicity for SSARA consist of teach-ins and speakers' bureaus to educate the community about the program. The organization has also endeavored to increase the program's accessibility by creating the position of a sexual assault resource coordinator, who can be accessed in a confidential manner directly through health services.

"Personally, the program did not work for me," one junior said. "I called because my boyfriend threatened me and my friends, and the person I spoke to did not make me feel comfortable enough to explain my situation. It's hard to open up to a stranger, especially to a peer that might be judging you even though they aren't supposed to be."

Both Barrett and Wentz expressed confidence that more students will take advantage of the program as they gain more information about it.

"I feel as though [SSARA] is making its best effort to serve the Tufts community. It is unfortunate that more people do not take advantage of the program, but as it becomes more publicized," Wentz said.

The program was first implemented when the women's center received a grant from the Department of Justice. According to Peggy Barrett of the Women's Center, it was decided that the Rape Crisis and Recovery course offered on campus could be supplemented by certifying students as counselors to serve the Tufts community.

The organization currently consists of a group of ten students who have been certified as rape crisis counselors who were accepted into the program through an application process. The students receive training either through the course offered at Tufts or through an outside organization. The students work as volunteer assistants, and are given shifts of one week at a time in which they are on call 24 hours per day. Their job is to provide "some counseling and some resource information, depending upon what the caller needs," Barrett said.

Barrett and Kathy Savage of Health Services provide back-up for the SSARA assistants on call, but it is the student volunteers that receive and initially respond to the calls. The assistants have monthly meetings with trained rape crisis counselors to gain continuing education and training. "I am sure it will become more frequently used," Wentz said.