Helping Students In Distress

Student Emergency Assistance Fund

Are you facing an insurmountable financial hurdle as a result of the global pandemic? The Student Emergency Assistance Fund is a new joint venture led by the Office of Philanthropic & Alumni Engagement, Student Government Board, the Graduate & Professional Student Government, and the Division of Student Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh.
 
The health and safety of our Pitt community, particularly our students, is paramount. The Fund, to be administered at the direction of the Provost, will be used to provide financial support for degree-seeking students of the University of Pittsburgh with unanticipated and insurmountable expenses related to emergency situations that may result in students facing financial hardship. Undergraduate, graduate, and professional students may apply for funds when they experience a financial barrier based on an emergency situation and when they have exhausted all other available resources.
 
For more information on applying to the Fund, please read the Guidelines.

Helping Students in Distress

 

In Student Affairs, we actively foster a caring community that prioritizes the safety and well-being of all of its members. To that end, we provide the following resources and services to ensure that our students remain safe, healthy, and thriving.

For Students

For Faculty and Staff

  • Helping Distressed Students Guide (pdf)
  • Recognizing and Assisting Students in Distress (pdf)
  • Care and Resource Support (CARS) Team

    The University of Pittsburgh is dedicated to providing a safe and healthy living and learning environment for students. The Care and Resources Support (CARS) Team accepts referrals, evaluates, and responds to student behavior identified as reasonably causing concern for students’ health, welfare, and safety.

    Referrals to CARS: Students who should be referred to CARS may be students whose ability to succeed academically, or to function within expected standards as a member of the Pitt community, are negatively impacted by the student’s conduct or decisions, or by challenges the student faces of a medical, personal or social nature.  The CARS Team is not intended to address emergency situations.  If there is an immediate threat to a student or the community, please call 911 or the Pitt Police at 412-624-2121. A CARS referral should be made when communication and collaboration among service providers is needed to help students who are impaired in functioning across multiple areas and who may benefit from collaborative assistance from a variety of departments (for example, Residence Life, University Counseling Center, Disability Resources and Services, Student Health, Public Safety, Office of International Services, or other offices.) If only one service provider is needed please contact that office directly.

    Before communicating with the CARS Team Coordinator about referrals, please follow your own departmental protocol and consult with your supervisors for next steps to complete within the department. If the concern cannot be addressed within the department, and there is a decision to refer a student to the CARS Team for a collaborative support plan, please send as much of the following information as possible if known:

    • Your name, title, e-mail address, and phone number
    • Student’s PeopleSoft number
    • Student’s legal name
    • Student’s preferred name
    • Student’s cell phone number
    • Student’s local address
    • Nature of concern