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:
- University Counseling Center (Confidential) – On-Campus
216.397.4283
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:
- LGBT Community Center of Cleveland – Off-Campus
216.651.5428 - BRAVO – Buckeye Regional Anti-Violence Organization – Off-Campus
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.
- 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.