The SHARPP Center @ Law

Advocates are not trained mental health providers, and the emotional support provided by SHARPP Center advocates is not the same as therapy. However, our advocates have specialized training in the dynamics of violence, the impacts this may have on individuals, and ways that brains and bodies are impacted by stress and trauma. Caroline Young, Expanded Services Coordinator, is the person who members of the UNH Law community would most likely be meeting with, unless they call the SHARPP Center's helpline during evenings or weekends. SHARPP Center advocates are available to provide you with a non-judgmental space to discuss the ways you have been impacted by an experience of harm, to explore your needs, and identify some initial ways to cope with the ways it is currently causing distress for you. There may be times after experiencing harm when things feel overwhelming or unmanageable. This can happen in the time immediately following harm, or days, weeks, and years later. SHARPP Center advocates can provide support during these times to help you regain a sense of control by identifying emotions, needs, and supporting your coping skills. If you are seeking additional mental health support, SHARPP Center advocates can help identify and refer you to campus and community providers. 

Advocates can use their training to share information with you to help you understand dynamics of violence/harm, systems, on and off-campus resources, and more. We hope to provide you with relevant information to help you feel less alone and to ensure you know what options are available to support you in making the best decisions for you. Advocates can help identify options and help you explore which choices best meet your specific needs in a non-judgmental way. Each individual is encouraged to make decisions about what is best for them, and no one who contacts the SHARPP Center is required to take any options provided by the advocate.

Safety is a deeply personal feeling that is shaped by our identities and experiences. Safety can include a sense of security, agency and autonomy, a sense of trust in yourself, your abilities, the people around you, and the environment you’re in. Experiencing interpersonal violence can impact your sense of safety in many different ways and each person is impacted differently. SHARPP Center advocates are available to help you think about your sense of safety in different aspects of your life, including emotionally, digitally/technologically, physically, and financially. Advocates can help you explore how your experience of harm has impacted your sense of safety in these areas, and what strategies you may wish to take to contribute to a greater sense of safety. There is no one way to increase safety, and advocates are here to support you in making the choices that are right for you and your experience. 

Additional Safety Planning Resources:

• SPARC (Stalking Prevention, Awareness, and Resource Center) Stalking Safety Strategies
• Safety Planning around Technology
• SPARC Documentation Logs
• Stalking and Harassment Self-Assessment Tool
• Interactive Safety Planning Tool
• Safety & Prevention as a Bystander

If you would like to explore these options, discuss your self-assessment results, or review any safety planning questions with an advocate from the SHARPP Center, book a confidential appointment with Caroline Young, Expanded Services Coordinator.

Experiencing interpersonal violence can impact many aspects of our lives, including our academic success. You may find that it is harder to concentrate during class, while doing homework or studying for a test, that you are not sleeping as well, or are having a hard time getting to class or turning work in on time. There are numerous resources and options available to you to help address the impact of harm on your academics. The SHARPP Center advocates can help you explore both short and long-term options and pursue any that feel appropriate for you. 

Each individual’s experience of harm and needs afterwards will be different. SHARPP Center advocates can provide support, resources, and information to address many concerns that you may have, however we often cannot address or meet every need that may arise. Our advocates are knowledgeable about other resources and offices on campus and in your local community to help support your needs and goals. Advocates can provide you with personalized referrals to resources you may not already be aware of or can help facilitate a referral to resources if you are uncertain of how to contact them. This includes Thrive Survivor Support Center, (Merrimack County) or other crisis centers and resources that are local to where survivors live, work, etc.

To find other resources in your state or area:

• NHCADSV (New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence) - to find your NH county's crisis center
• SPARC (Stalking Prevention, Awareness, & Resource Center)
• National Domestic Violence Hotline
• NSVRC (National Sexual Violence Resource Center)
• RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network)
  • Use this tool to find your local crisis center outside of NH