So this is gonna be a double post this week, because I screwed up and forgot to post last week's blog. But here I am talking about something that I've held very dear to me: SafeHalo.
Last summer, I was scrolling around FB like any impatient college senior would during the summer, seeing what everyone's up to and if there was anything cool happening on campus in the near future. That's when I came across this post by a guy named Daniel Reji, who put out an application for people that would be potentially interested in being a part of a start-up that combats sexual assault on campus. I've always wanted to be a part of a cause like such, but I never knew the right places to go to or the most accessible resource for me to help out. Here it was, a cause that resonated with me and sounded like the best way to put an exclamation point on my college career.
So here I am, typing away at an application that I would never think would get back to me; I've applied to a lot of stuff and got rejected for it, and I'm sadly kinda used to it by now. Then, a month later, I get a call from Dan and without hesitation, I became a part of SafeHalo. I definitely have not regretted the decision ever since; I've met probably the best people ever through this company and strengthened my beliefs and character through it all. It's definitely one of those things where you think "wow, where have you been all my life" to all 20+ people that you've met through a certain experience.
Many of you must be wondering what SafeHalo is. And here it is: simply put, this is an on-demand, stigma-free, judgement-free buddy system. A student may want a walk from the library to his/her apartment, from the bars to a bus stop, etc. They text the given SafeHalo number, and within minutes, two students will be sent over to walk the person to wherever they need to be. The best part about it? Everything is as if you're just calling a couple of friends to walk home with you within minutes. There's nobody in uniform walking you. No judgement, no stigma, nothing. And that's what makes the whole SafeHalo experience so beautiful; we're your best friend when you need one the most.
I've never been more proud to be part of an organization that's growing so fast and so wide. We have half a dozen schools at the moment in talks to have SafeHalo, we watched Emerson college just this past weekend have a beautiful launch, and in Fall 2017, we'll see Oregon launch their pilot program. It's truly only up from here on out. I just wanna take the time to thank Dan and Jamie for accepting me with open arms into a great program. Can't wait to see where we go from here.