NOTICE: Unfortunately, due to the spread of COVID-19, we are no longer offering in-person student supporter trainings, however, if you want to become involved with SPILL, you are very welcomed to sign up on this form for a training session.
BadgerSpill is a peer-to-peer support network made OF and FOR UW-Madison students.
Spill your guts here, confidentially, and you'll get feedback, empathy, and encouragement from fellow Badgers who can relate.
BadgerSpill is not a crisis network, and more serious issues should be directed to University Health Services, 911, or this Lifeline.
- We are not trained as counselors.
- We are not medical professionals.
- We are not saying our approaches are the "right choice" or that our advice is perfect for every person and every situation.
- We are just students who feel we can relate to what you're going through, and who want to give you a venue for letting problems out.
To better determine which students are spilling at your campus,
please select the responses below that best describe you.
Before entering our site, please read and agree to our Terms & Conditions.
If this is a medical emergency, please call 911. If you are having a mental health crisis please contact UHS at 608-265-5600 (select option 9). If you live in university residence halls, you may also want to contact your resident assistant.
SPILL is...
- a peer-to-peer support network made OF and FOR UW-Madison students. Spill your guts here, confidentially, and you'll get feedback, empathy, and encouragement from fellow Badgers who can relate.
- allow you to vent about whatever you're going through confidentially. We want you to get it off your chest, and get input from other students who have been in similar situation .[Note: SPILL reserves the rights to break confidentiality if individuals are threats to themselves or others].
- connect students who are struggling with similar problems by providing them with a thread of identity-freemessages of support, encouragement, and resources from "Student Supporters" in that campus network.
- aim to be an informal outlet for stress and frustrations among peers, particularly when one might not be comfortable talking face-to-face with friends or professionals about it, or may be seeking an unbiased opinion.
- educate its team of volunteer "Student Supporters" (those responding to emails) to be non-judgmental active listeners, and screens their responses to ensure advantageous feedback is being given.
- send your "spill" to multiple Student Supporters in your area of concern, giving you a handful of perspectives to consider
- try our hardest to get your response back to you within 24 hours! [Note: During finals week, school recesses, and summer break, Student Supporters are allowed 48 hours to respond].
- want to keep expanding to other campuses! If you're interested in starting a chapter at your school or getting more information, email us.
- provide crisis or emergency services. If there is a plan, means, or intent to harm oneself or others, we may need to override privacy by calling 911 to keep you and others safe.
- respond to spills that come in from anything other than your school's email address (Ex: yourname@wisc.edu, yourname@berkeley.edu, yourname@und.edu). Spills will be returned to sender with a request to send it from their school email address.
- allow continued conversation between the Spiller and the Student Supporters or an opportunity for them to meet up in person; We want to protect the identities of both parties, do not want people getting stalked, and do not want to be abused as a dating/friend-making service.
- claim to be affiliated with all universities where student chapters exist; The organization is made up of and for students, though university personnel often supervise the effort.
- file official reports about instances of abuse, academic misconduct, or personal confessions; SPILL abides by HIPAA and FERPA regulations, and student information will not impact an individual's academic profile.
- attempt (by any means) to be a replacement for personal counseling; We are not medical professionals, and we do not intend to be. We do, however, recognize that it can be hard to reach out for help sometimes, and we hope to act as a stepping stone in the process.
