Community Support Connectors

Responding to Sexual Misconduct and Gender-based Harm at the School of Public Health

University of Michigan School of Public Health community members have consistently expressed a desire for more accessible and confidential resources around navigating sexual misconduct and gender-based harms. School leadership and the schoolwide Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee have been working to respond to the needs of our school community. Two years of careful planning with the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center (SAPAC) led to the development of a confidential support resource that does not have an associated reporting requirement: the Community Support Connectors Program (CS Connectors).

The Community Support Connectors Program (CS Connectors) is a confidential peer support program.  This means that Michigan Public Health faculty, staff, postdoctoral fellows, and students experiencing sexual misconduct or gender-based harm can now reach out to a trained Michigan Public Health community member for confidential support that does not have to be reported to the university or other entity. While reporting is an important part of creating a climate more resistant to sexual misconduct, it can also feel daunting to undertake. 

As a peer support program, CS Connectors are Michigan Public Health faculty, staff, and students passionate about equity, wellness, and community care. Connectors receive specialized and ongoing training and coaching from SAPAC that allows them to provide intersectional, empathetic, community-specific support and direct connections to relevant campus resources and/or reporting options (ex. SAPAC, ECRT, CAPS, FASCCO) to support their fellow community members' specific self-determined needs in the face of sexual misconduct and gender-based harm. As a result, Michigan Public Health faculty, staff, and students will be able to access trusted, accessible, and representative peer support through the CS Connectors program. The Community Support Connectors Program does not seek to replace existing university programs or reporting processes, but is a pilot program meant to increase the utilization of these resources by making them more accessible to School of Public Health community members.

If you are a Michigan Public Health faculty, staff, postdoctoral fellow, or student and you would like to meet with a CS Connector, login to The Heights and complete and submit the linked GoogleForm.

If you are not a Michigan Public Health faculty, staff, postdoctoral fellow, or student, but you would like to access confidential support re: sexual misconduct and gender-based harms, please contact SAPAC.

For inquiries about the program that are not seeking services of confidential support, please email Whitney Peoples ([email protected]) or Lara Trocchio ([email protected]). Please note that these email addresses are not an avenue for confidential support -- both email addresses belong to people with reporting obligations. Requests for confidential support through the CS Connectors program should be submitted through the GoogleForm on the Heights.