The Help Yourself Campaign was launched during the 2016 Fall semester for the annual Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October. The campaign was started by Dr. Spencer Keralis, the former Department Head of the Digital Humanities and Collaborative Programs (DHCP) at the UNT Libraries. Dr. Keralis mentored Brea Henson, current HYC Coordinator, on outreach and community building. 

DHCP was dissolved in Spring 2018. Brea Henson aims to continue and expand the campaign through campus community building and outreach. 

UNT Values

1. Courageous Integrity: The HYC aims "to build [a] trust[ing]" and compassionate network between students, the UNT Libraries, UNT campus student support offices, and local communities "through consistent actions that are honest, transparent, and authentic," at times requiring vulnerability and emotional labor.
2. Be Curious: The HYC encourages students to "engage in new experiences for learning and growth" around their health, identity, and holistic wellness.
3. We Care: The HYC's outreach and praxis is informed by evidence-based mindfulness principles, trauma-infomred approaches to librarianship, the pedagogy of kindness, and "Whole Person"/"Whole Student"/"Whole University" praxis used in librarianship and social work. The HYC seeks to "cultivate authentic connections [with campus student support offices] that have a meaningful impact" on students. The HYC "share expertise and resources" from campus student support offices and librarians in order to "contribut[e]" to student success and wellbeing. The HYC hopes to "help at least one person every day" through direct and indirect engagement and outreach. 
4. Better Together: The HYC provides access to information that supports "an inclusive environment of respect, belonging, and access for all" students at UNT. 
5. Show Your Fire: The HYC Coordinator, Brea Henson, aims to "be prepared, be present, and actively participate" in discussions with students and campus support offices about their wellness needs, provide "enthusiastic engagement" in face-to-face interactions, and recommend helpful HYC resources. 

UNT Wellness

The HYC aims to support the "physical, social, emotional, environmental, intellectual, occupational, creative, financial, [and] spiritual" wellness for UNT Students by providing access to educational information, bibliotherapeutic resources, contact information for specialists in providing care, and compassionate collaborations.

Student Success Initiative

1. Proactive and Holistic Care: The HYC Coordinator works with support and success offices, local offices, and organizations to connect students proactively to the resources and people who can help them. Through intentional tabling, collaborative events, strategic purchases, referrals, and access to information on the HYC guide, the HYC Coordinator and HYC partnering student support and success offices are part of the holistic care network at UNT. We aim to meet the unique needs of each student we serve.
2. Proactive and Holistic Care: The philosophy behind the Help Yourself Campaign is that if students are not holistically well, they cannot succeed in their coursework and may not achieve academic success. The topics of the HYC were identified as areas that students can struggle to find reliable information about, discuss with their personal support networks, ask for professional help on, and locate people who can provide professional help. 
3. Proactive and Holistic Care: UNT Libraries understand it can take time before students feel comfortable or ready to talk to a person for help. UNT Libraries aims to help students help themselves by providing bibliotherapy resources and contact information for student support and success offices when students are ready for personal help in their care and healing journeys.  
4. Proactive and Holistic Care: All work to provide HYC is trauma-informed and backed by research and praxis in trauma-informed librarianship, whole-person librarianship, whole-student librarianship, whole-university librarianship, and social services in academic libraries.

Student-serving campus organizations may request copies of our outreach card with QR code for your office by emailing brea.henson@unt.edu. We appreciate your help in spreading awareness of our resources to the broader UNT community.

As of April 2021, only UNT resources are provided on theses pages and third-party information has been removed unless the organization is an academic or a government organization or a certifying professional board. All third party resources, including non-profits and philanthropies, have been moved to the "Local & National Resource" tab. 

Further as of April 2021, only non-profits and philanthropies will be accepted as additional resources for the Help Yourself Campaign. 

Disclaimer about third-party resources: The additional resources have been selected for their educational content and potential free services only. Each resource is vetted for accurate information as well as ensuring the company or organization aligns with the UNT mission and values. When possible, non-profit status is provided. No financial agreements or contracts were signed for providing information. The UNT Libraries does not endorse any third party company or organization listed as a potential resource nor can the UNT Libraries recommend services provided by any third-party company or organization, though some many have existing contracts with UNT Denton or UNT System. The guide editor maintains the right to remove companies or organizations at their discretion without notification. Using third party information provided or services advertised on company or organization websites are at the individual's discretion.