Security & Personal Safety

• Emergency contact in residence
• On duty overnight (6pm to 8am) and 24 hrs. on weekends (6pm Friday to 8am Monday)
• Work with Security and Residence Life Coordinators in emergency situations.
• Facilitate a response to noise complaints and breaches of security

• On-duty from 6:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. every day
• Monitor building access points

The goSAFE staff walks throughout campus in pairs and, by request, will walk you to and from any location on campus, including residences. They’ll walk you to campus destinations and wait with you for buses and taxis or until your vehicle starts. This service is complimentary. To request goSAFE, call: 416-736-5454 or ext. 55454 or use any Blue Light Emergency Phone, on campus pay phone or the goSAFE button on campus safety phones.

Learn More About goSAFE

• Installed at all of the external points of entry/exit for the residences
• Assists Security in finding those responsible where breaches of security have occurred
• Help responses when a door alarm is activated

• Installed at all of the external points of entry/exit in residences
• Used only for emergency exits from the building (fire alarms, etc.)
• Signal alarm is sent to Security Control if these doors are forced open from the outside or if the doors are propped or tampered with
• Alarms will activate the camera monitoring system and alert the Security Control staff of the breach in security
• Alarms will be investigated and students found responsible for causing a security breach will face sanctions under the Code of Student
• Report broken locks or doors to Housing immediately for repair

• Do not prop open any exterior doors. You may be allowing an intruder in. Propping exterior doors open is a violation of Residence Community Standards.
• Sign-in your guests. Stay with your guests at all times.
• Do not lend keys/key cards. Lending keys jeopardizes the safety of everyone in your residence. You must open the door for your guests. Giving your keys to someone, even your family, is a serious breach of security and a violation of the Residence Housing Contract.
• Lock it! – Lock your room door every time you leave your room/suite to protect your possessions and when you go to sleep. You should never leave your doors unlocked. Keycard locks on bedroom doors can be locked from the inside by using the deadbolt. Even if you use the deadbolt, your roommate will be able to open the door with their keycard.
• Do not let anyone tailgate into the residence behind you. Ask them to show you they have a key of their own or let the door close and they can key themselves in.
• Report a stolen or lost key right away. Don’t write on key cards or attach personal information to key rings. If found, a lost key ring should not provide any additional information about the owner.
• Report any security concerns you have or suspicious persons to Security right away.

Residents must exercise caution at all times and in all places. Although York’s campuses are generally safe places, we recommend that residents:

• Do not study alone in study halls or classrooms late at night.
• Do not walk around campus alone at night. Instead use goSAFE, York’s safety escort service.
• Do not jog on or off campus alone at night.
• Lock your room door when you are at home and when you leave.
• Do not allow non-residents into the building at any time.
• Do not hold the residence door open for strangers. Ask them to use their own key or key card.
• Do not lend keys/key cards

Residence Life is committed to York University’s Policy on Sexual Violence.

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence and you need support, we encourage you to connect with the Centre for Sexual Violence Response, Support & Education; Residence Life staff can help facilitate a connection to the Centre. The University will provide support and appropriately accommodate the needs of those who have experienced sexual violence or have been impacted by sexual violence.

Supports and services are available to students, staff, and faculty at York University regardless of whether they have filed a formal complaint of sexual violence or not. Visit the Centre for Sexual Violence Response, Support & Education’s website for more information about supports available at York, as well as community resources available (including ones that can be accessed 24 hours a day).

Stress – Feeling Overwhelmed

Many students become overwhelmed with the pressures of academic life (e.g. increased anxiety, sadness). Sometimes it helps to clarify your feelings by talking with someone. Residence Life Staff are not healthcare professionals, but are trained to work with students and the problems they face.  They are knowledgeable about available resources on campus and in the Toronto area. Residence Life Staff are and have been university students and bring understanding and empathy to their support role. They are here to support you when you need it!

If you are looking for additional resources, there are lots of people on campus who can help including:

Student Counselling, Health & Well-Being (SCHW) where counsellors provide counselling (individual, group and workshops) to York students for a wide variety of personal issues that students typically face.

In addition to various issues that many students find themselves facing, some students may also experience confusing or upsetting thoughts or feelings or may find themselves acting in ways that are not familiar or usual. If you are experiencing any of the following we strongly encourage you to contact Residence Life Staff:

• Unusual thinking (the feeling that something odd or strange is happening);
• Thoughts of harming yourself;
• Suspicion (feeling that others are laughing at, or talking about, you);
• Misperceiving sounds, smells or things seen (hearing your name called, but no one is there);
• Disorganized thinking (trouble getting your point across or trouble understanding what others are trying to say); or
• Social withdrawal (you don't feel like being around other people).

If you are feeling like you might harm yourself, call 911 immediately. Please follow-up by calling Security or a Don to let them know that an emergency vehicle is on its way to you. They will assist Emergency Services in finding you and can also arrange for someone to accompany you to an emergency facility.

Good2Talk (1.866.925.5454) is Ontario’s Postsecondary Student Helpline. If you have concerns about anything big or small, need someone to talk to or are looking for information or resources, Good2Talk will listen and provide you with options and help.  Good2Talk is a free, completely confidential and anonymous service that offers you professional counselling, mental health information and connections to local resources.

Crisis If you are experiencing a life-threatening emergency, we encourage you to call 911(Emergency Services) for help immediately and follow-up by alerting Security Services at ext. 33333 from a campus phone so they can help Emergency Services locate you. Because you are a member of the Residence Life family at York, don't be surprised if the Residence Life Staff or Security follows up with you afterwards to make sure you are okay and that you have the supports you need.

While Residence Life Staff, PCS, or Security may be the first to lend help when you need it, in the case of crisis, there are others that can help. The Office of Student Community Relations (OSCR) support students impacted by critical incidents. This includes contacting the student and/or their family and assisting them by arranging appropriate referrals and support, both internal and external to York, related to well-being, financial, academic and housing concerns.

If you are experiencing a non-life threatening crisis, you can go to Student Counselling, Health & Well-Being during office hours and be seen right away for a crisis intervention session. Additional Toronto community support:

• Centre for Addiction & Mental Health (CAMH): 416-535-8501, press “0” and ask for “Emergency” or go directly to the CAMH Emergency room located at 1051 Queen Street West, Toronto for assessment and referral (open 24 hours).
• Distress Centres of Greater Toronto: 416-408-4357
  • The Centre provides 24-hour, immediate emotional support, crisis intervention, suicide prevention and face-to-face counselling for people dealing with the effects of suicide and homicide.