In case of emergency

Please note that the PBHA bias reporting system should not be used as an emergency service.

• In the event of an on campus emergency, please call Harvard Counseling And Mental Health Services (617-495-2042), or Harvard University Police (617-495-1212). 
• In the event of an off-campus emergency, please call 911 emergency service, or the Boston Medical Center Emergency Services Program for Boston & Cambridge Emergency Mental Health Services (800-9814357). 
• If you are in need of urgent help for your safety or that of anyone else's, please contact a staff member at PBHA immediately instead of filling out this form.

Harvard policies

• Office of Diversity, Education and Support & DSO
• Title IX “Interim” policies

Bias and discrimination

• Definition of bias: single or multiple acts toward an individual, group, or their property that has a negative impact and that one could reasonably conclude is based upon an actual or perceived identity.
• Definition of discrimination: the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of identity.

If you or someone you know has experienced a harmful event or situation and would like to report it, we encourage you to connect with a PBHA student leader (program director, officer) or staff member via email or in person. If you are unable or uncomfortable reporting your program director or director of programs then please complete the following form. We at PBHA want to create an environment where you feel welcome and have developed this form so we can work together to address your concerns, co-create a restorative process to address the current situation, and build a more supportive organization for everyone. Upon completion, this form will be reviewed by the Executive Director and President who reach out to you to create space to learn about your experience and discuss next steps.

At PBHA, we are committed to upholding our core values of love and compassion, social justice, community building, stewardship, growth of people and learning, and diversity. In following these values, we want to ensure that every member of our community, including our volunteers, staff, partners, constituents, and other associates feel that PBHA is a safe and welcoming environment for them.

Additionally, PBHA’s policies prohibit discrimination based on race, creed, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, social economic status, or ability.

The PBHA bias reporting system provides PBHA volunteers, staff, partners, constituents, and other associates with an avenue to report incidents of bias, discrimination, or harassment (both explicit and implicit) that occur within the purview of our operations (ex: hurtful and/or hateful comments, incidents of exclusion, incidents of discrimination on the basis of a protected identity, etc.). We recognize that our membership is made up of students from Harvard and other colleges as well as constituents from the greater Boston community. If you have experienced bias or harm outside of PBHA operations, this form is not the correct venue for you, although you should feel free to contact our staff or student leaders for support or advice.

We also recognize that our membership includes minor participants and junior staff. Youth ages 14 and older may complete this form. Program staff and guardians may complete this form for youth under 14. Please note that PBHA will reach out to guardians or local youth protection agencies, if the report indicates harm or other information that must be disclosed.

In addressing harm, PBHA centers restorative justice (RJ) approaches. This means we seek to address harm without causing more harm and work with all impacted partities to “make things right” and create just responses together. This also means we seek interventions that do not reinforce or perpetuate oppressive norms or a punitive approach and actively cultivate healing and collective care.

PBHA is a Harvard student organization and, as such, follows Harvard policies. In cases where there are implications involving safety, Harvard policy, or state/federal laws (including Title IX and sexual harassment), we are required to follow Harvard or legal processes and share your report with the relevant authorities. In the case of minors completing this report, we may share the report with your guardians. In that event, we will make an effort to contact you before we share your report.

Your report will be submitted and reviewed thoroughly by only the Executive Director (maria@pbha.org) and President of PBHA (president@pbha.org) by default. If you do not feel comfortable submitting your report to the Executive Director or President of PBHA, you can select the Deputy Director as an alternate reviewer.

We will then follow up with you to learn more about your experience, listen to what you would like to see happen moving forward, and if appropriate develop a plan with next steps together. We will work to ensure you feel the steps are safe and free from retaliation. We encourage you to include your contact information so that we may follow up with you directly. The person who is perceived to have caused harm will not be contacted or notified of your report until we speak with you, unless there is an assessment of potential immediate harm or required mandated reporting per Massachusetts law or Harvard policy. In these cases, we may take additional action and will notify you as to the action taken.

Please only fill out if involving PBHA staff, volunteers, constituents or partners and within PBHA operations & programming.