Escape Now

PERSONALIZED SAFETY PLANNING

Your safety is important. Listed are tips to help keep you safe. It is important to get help with your safety plan. Think about ways to keep yourself safe and seek help if you don't know how to make the whole plan work.

The Center for Prevention of Abuse may be able to provide you with a cell phone that is programmed to only call 911. These phones are for when you need to call the police and cannot get to any other phone. Call (309) 691-0551 for more information.

  1. Have important phone numbers with you for you and your children. Numbers to have are the police, school, hotlines, friends and the local shelter.
  2. Alert friends or neighbors you could tell about the abuse. Ask them to call the police if they hear angry or violent noises. If you have children, teach them how to dial 911. Make up a code word that you can use when you need help.
  3. Practice ways to get out of your home safely.
  4. Identify safer places in your home where there are exits and no weapons. If you feel abuse is going to happen try to get your abuser to one of these safer places. (Unsafe places include the kitchen, bathroom, garage, and adult bedrooms.)
  5. Think about ways that you could remove weapons from the house.
  6. Even if you do not plan to leave, think of where you could go. Think of how you might leave. Try doing things that get you out of the house - taking out the trash, walking the pet or going to the store. Put together a bag of things you use everyday (see the checklist below). Hide it where it is easy for you to get.
  7. Review your safety plan often.
If you consider leaving your abuser, plan:
  1. Identify four places you could go if you leave your home.
  2. Choose people who might help you if you left. Think about people who will keep a bag for you. Think about people who might lend you money. Make plans for your pets.
  3. Get a cell phone or keep change for phone calls.
  4. Open a bank account or get a credit card. DO NOT HAVE THIS INFORMATION SENT TO YOUR HOME ADDRESS!
  5. Make it part of your plan to do things that get you out of the house - taking out the trash, walking the family pet, or going to the store. Practice how you would leave.
  6. Think how you could take your children with you safely. There are times when taking your children with you may put all of your lives in danger. You need to protect yourself to be able to protect your children.
  7. Put together a bag of things you use everyday. Hide it where it is easy for you to get or leave it with a friend or family member.
Items to take, if possible:
  1. Children (if it is safe)
  2. Money
  3. Keys to car, house, work
  4. Extra clothes
  5. Medicine
  6. Important papers for you and your children
    • Birth certificates
    • Social security cards
    • School and medical records
    • Bankbooks, credit cards
    • Driver's license
    • Car registration
    • Welfare identification
    • Passports, green cards, work permits
    • Lease/rental agreement
    • Mortgage payment book, unpaid bills
    • Insurance papers
    • PPO, divorce papers, custody orders
    • Address book
  7. Create a list of people who will pick up your children and give that list to your child care provider
  8. Pictures, jewelry, things that mean a lot to you
  9. Items for your children (toys, blankets, etc.)
If you have left your abuser, think about ways to stay safe:
  1. Get a cell phone. The Center may be able to provide you with a cell phone that is programmed to only call 911. These phones are for when you need to call the police and cannot get to any other phone.
  2. Get an Order of Protection from the court. Keep a copy with you all the time. Give a copy to the police, people who take care of your children, their schools and your boss. The Center can help. Call (309) 691-0551 for more information.
  3. Change the locks. Consider putting in stronger doors, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, a security system and outside lights.
  4. Tell friends and neighbors that your abuser no longer lives with you. Ask them to call the police if they see your abuser near your home or children.
  5. Tell people who take care of your children the names of people who are allowed to pick them up. If you have an Order of Protection protecting your children, give their teachers and babysitters a copy of it.
  6. Tell someone at work about what has happened. Ask that person to screen your calls. If you have an Order of Protection that includes where you work, consider giving your boss a copy of it and a picture of the abuser. Think about and practice a safety plan for your workplace. This should include going to and from work.
  7. Don't use the same stores or businesses that you did when you were with your abuser.
  8. Identify someone that you can call if you feel down. Call that person if you are thinking about going to a support group or workshop.
  9. Safe way to speak with your abuser if you must.
  10. Review your safety plan often.