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John Carroll University / Student Life / Health, Wellness, and Safety / Student Health and Wellness Center / Relationship Health

Relationships with friends, parents, family members, roommates, classmates, and significant others may change for students in college. You may find that your BFF since Kindergarten is interested in new things and people, and your high school sweetheart has found someone new. Your first-year roommate may become a great friend or someone you loathe, and your mom may prove to be a wonderful listener and confidante, while your dad just doesn’t seem to understand.

Recognize strong, healthy relationships, and embrace and foster those, and either enhance or terminate relationships that do not support your well-being or success as a student. Students concerned about being in an unhealthy relationship are encouraged to:

  • Talk to your roommate, RA, family, professors, advisor, administrators, or staff members about your concerns.
  • Make an appointment with the University Counseling Center to discuss your relationship.

Tips on how to help a friend in an abusive relationship…

  • Don’t be afraid to tell your friend that you’re concerned. You can point out that the behavior is not normal and that they deserves a healthy relationship.
  • Refer them to resources that can assist in developing a safety plan, such as the Counseling Center or the Domestic Violence Center.
  • Be non-judgmental. Don’t ask questions like, “Why don’t you just break up?” Respect your friend’s decision to stay or to leave. Many individuals leave and return to abusive relationships multiple times. It is important to support them regardless of what you think is best.
Health Relationship Topics

Many students are passionate about relationships health and our office has many different educational opportunities for learning.  If anyone completes the requirements listed below they will receive a HRT Certification.  For a complete list of programs and descriptions, please visit: HRT Programs

Complete all three core programs:

   - Bystander 101
   - Consent is Sexy (and Necessary(
   - #Relationshipgoals

Complete 2 of any programs listed below

   - Bystander 201
   - Survivor Support 101
   - Survivor Support 201
   - Empowered
   - One Love Escalation Training
   - Let's Stay Friends...or Not
   - Self Sabotage
   - Conflict Management
   - Truth Hurts

Most students feel a strong connection to the place they call home. Home is familiar, and our routines at home tend to be comfortable and predictable. When we move away from home or are placed in a new environment or situation, we might become uneasy or homesick. Most colleges students – especially first-year students – may experience homesickness at one time or another, and it is important to note that homesickness can occur at any time. A student who feels homesick might feel:

  • Anxious about being away from parents, guardians, friends, siblings, or even pets.
  • Anxious about doing well in college and meeting new people.
  • Lonely or isolated.
  • That everyone but me seems to be adjusting and having fun.
  • Depressed or sad.
  • Unmotivated to attend class, study, make friends, or even eat.
  • A constant thought about home.

The most important things to remember about homesickness is that you are not alone, and there are resources to help:

  • Conquering College is a program the office of Health Promotion and Wellness offers to help students reexamine their college expectations and myths about making friends.  If you would like more information on when these programs will be please contact the office at wellness@jcu.edu or 216-397-1973.
  • Resident Advisors are fabulous resources on campus. Your RA is familiar with students who have expressed homesickness, and understand the demands of being a college student. Talk to your RA for support.
  • The University Counseling Center is resource for any student who may feel the feelings of homesickness are persistent.
  • Try the app Nod that helps students grow and maintain strong social lives through the COVID-19 crisis.  Just because we can't be together physically doesn't mean we can't be socially connected.

Advocacy/Supportive Services:

  • Cleveland Rape Crisis Center – Off-Campus
          - 24-hour support: call or text – 216.619.6192
          - 24-hour chat: clevelandrapecrisis.org/chat
          - Cleveland Rape Crisis Center provides on-site campus advocacy to learn more visit this page.
  • Cleveland Domestic Violence and Child Advocacy Center – Off-Campus
          - www.dvcac.org/
          - 24-hour hotline: 216.391.HELP

Counseling:

Wondering what to expect when you seek support services? Click here for some information to offer clarity around what resources are available and what they encompass.

Reporting:

  • JCUPD – On-Campus
    216.397.1234
  • Title IX Coordinator – On-Campus
    Eric Butler, JD.
    216.397.1559
  • University Heights PD – Off-Campus 216.932.1800

Medical Resources:

  • Hillcrest Hospital SANE Unit – Off-Campus; Closest to JCU
    440.312.4500

Additional LGBTQ Support Services:

National Resources:

      - Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network
      - National Domestic Violence Hotline
      - National Stalking Resource Center

The Health Center offers free STI/HIV testing.  Here is a link to their website for more information.

Health Center Testing Information

  • Myth: There is a high rate of false reporting when it comes to rape and sexual violence.
    • Fact: Research and data indicate that false reporting accounts for only 2% to 10% of all reports of sexual assault [1]. It is also important to note that an estimated 63% of sexual assaults go unreported [2]. In reality, there are many factors that result in sexual assault cases being dropped or deemed ‘unfounded’. “Unfounded cases include those that law enforcement believes do not meet the legal criteria for rape. It does not mean that some form of sexual assault may not have occurred…but only that the case does not meet the legal criteria” [3] or there is not enough evidence to proceed.
  • Myth: Men rape women because they cannot control themselves.
    • Fact: Rape is an act of violence committed out of desire for power and control. Many rapes are not impulsive acts, but are planned events.
  • Myth: If a woman is wearing sexy clothing she is partially to blame if she is raped.
    • Fact: The rapist does not care what the person is wearing. The rapist is seeking someone they can isolate and make vulnerable. The most common tool they use to do this is alcohol.
  • Myth: If a victim has been drinking, then they are partially to blame if they are raped.
    • Fact: Alcohol and drugs can render a victim incapable of consent. Drinking doesn’t provide a green light.
  • Myth: If the victim did not put up a fight, then they were not actually raped.
    • Fact: In most cases the victim is unable to fight back do to trauma, impairment, fear, and/or other factors.
  • Myth: Most college aged women are raped by strangers.
    • Fact: 90 percent of college-aged women are raped by someone they know.
  • Myth: Only women are raped.
    • Fact: 1 in 33 men in the United States have experienced sexual assault.

[1][2][3] Retrieved from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center

Relationships in Lockdown - Dr. Esther Perel is interviewed on how lockdown is affecting relationships and provides other resources

Setting Boundaries in Relationships - Dr. Brene Brown breaks down the importance of setting boundaries in relationships

MyPlan App - This is a tool to help with safety decisions if you, or someone you care about, is experiencing abuse in their intimate relationship.