Safe Space Personal Safety Plan

There are many things you need to think about and need to plan for to make yourself safer. The following questions will help you figure out what you need to do.

Have important phone numbers available for your children and for yourself.
 

Police: ________________
 

Hotline: _______________

Friends: _______________, _______________, and _______________

Shelter: _______________

Safety Tips
·Think about some friends or neighbours you could tell about the violence and ask them to call the police if they hear suspicious noises coming from your house

·List four (4) places you can go if you decide to leave.
·Leave extra money, car keys, clothes, and copies of important papers with a close friend, relative or neighbour.

·Keep change for phone calls with you at all times. 

·Open a savings account.

·Rehearse your escape route with a support person, review your safety plan periodically.

·Your life and your safety are most important. Bringing your children with you is important. Everything else is secondary. However, think about taking the items listed below when you leave.

·Change the locks; install steel/metal doors, a security system, smoke detectors and an outside lighting system.

·Think about telling a couple of neighbours that your partner no longer lives with you and ask them to call the police if s/he is observed near your home or children.

·Tell the people who take care of your children the names of those who have permission to pick them up. If you have a personal protection order that names your children, give their caretakers and their schools a copy of the order.

·Think about telling someone at work about your situation and ask that person to screen your calls.
·Consider not using the same stores, banks, or other businesses that you used when you lived with your battering partner.

·Consider a personal protection order from the court. Keep a copy with you all the time, give one to the police, to your children’s caregivers, to your children’s schools, and to your own supervisor at work.

·Make a list of people you can call if you feel down and are thinking about returning to your battering partner. Think about attending workshops and support groups to gain support and strengthen your relationships with other people.

Consider the following:

1.  Are there weapons in the house? Where? Can you remove the weapons? The ammunition? Lock them up? Take them to the police?

2.  Can you figure out a signal for the neighbours to call the police? Can you teach your children to call the police? Or go to a neighbour’s and call?

3.  How will you get out of the house? Some women take out the garbage, walk the dog, get the newspaper or offer to go get him cigarettes. Set up a routine where it is normal for you to leave for a short time.  Your local domestic violence program will often hold these documents and resources for you (you should call first and confirm that they will). 

Things You Should Bring

Identification

• Driver's license
• Children's birth certificates
• Your birth certificate
• Social Security card
• Welfare identification
• Medical insurance cards
   

Money

• Money and/or credit cards
• ATM card
• Savings books
• Check book
   

Legal Documents

• Lease, rental agreement or deed to house/properties
• Car registration and insurance papers
• Health and life insurance papers
• Medical records for you and your children
• School and shot records
• Work permits/Green Card or visa
• Passport
• Divorce papers
• Custody papers
   

Other Things

• Keys to house, car and safety deposit boxes
• Medications for you and your children
• Small objects to sell
• Jewellery
• Address book
• Phone card
• Pictures of you, children and your abuser
• Children's small toys
• Toiletries/diapers
• Clothing
   

To do...

1.  Open a savings account in your own name. Get a post office box so that you can receive mail and checks.

2.  Plan who to stay with or who would be able to lend you money during a crisis.

3.  Contact the hotline for help in safety planning and keep the hotline number with you at all times.

Safety In Rural Areas

There are some extra things to keep in mind when making a safety plan in a rural area such as Montana.

It may take the police a long time to get to you.

• Make sure the police know where your residence is located.
• Get to a safe place while you wait for police.  You may want to find a neighbour’s home or a public place in which you feel safe.
   

There may be minimal forms of public transportation, such as buses or taxis.  You may not have access to your private form of transportation.

• Make a plan with someone you trust for a ride.
• See if the local sheriff or police department can offer you a ride.
• See if any local organizations, clubs, or spiritual groups can offer you a ride.
• Talk to an advocate at a local shelter or support organization for a ride.
   

Your partner may have weapons.

• Be aware that household objects can be used as weapons – hammers, ice picks, or kitchen utensils.
• Know where guns, knives, and other weapons are located and try to lock them up or make them as hard to get to as you can.
• Find places in your home that are free of weapons.  During a fight, try to stay out of places like the kitchen, garage, or rooms with hard flooring.

There may be many isolated areas in your community.

• Recognize and avoid isolated areas as much as possible.
• Travel with someone else as much as possible.
• Carry a cell phone with a fully charged battery.  You may ask for an emergency cell phone from a shelter or police department.
• If necessary, leave an isolated area, at least for a little while.

Safe places, like a friend’s house or a shelter, may be far away.

• If you have access to a car, always keep a full tank of gas.
• During winter, keep cold-weather clothing and non-perishable food items in an easy to get to place or your car.
• Be aware of where a friend’s house or a shelter is located in different parts of your area.
• Share your safety plan with a few trusted family members or friends.

Get Help!          

Crisis & Info. Line: (406) 782-8511

Toll free: 1-800-479-8511

E-mail: safespacebutte@gmail.com