Safety Plan

Your safety is the most important thing!
Remember not to rely only on a protective order for your safety. Make a personal safety plan as well!

Create a Personalized Safety Plan

  1. When you have an argument with your abuser, avoid any room without a door to the outside. Identify the room that you believe is the safest and try to move to that room. Such as rooms without weapons such as guns and knifes.
  2. Keep a small bag of items, such as a fully charged cell phone, change of clothing, $50 in cash, ATM cards, checkbooks, identification cards, birth certificates, social security cards, spare car/house keys, copies of protective orders, custody papers, important medications and other important documents in a location where you can access it quickly. These can be left with someone you trust.
  3. Think about family members, friends or agencies (Family Crisis Council) that you could safely stay with if you had to leave your home.
  4. If you are in danger and are unable to speak freely on a phone, consider using a code word or phrase to alert family members or friends that you are in danger. Use caution when sharing this code word or phrase with your children.
  5. Take another route to school or work if you are concerned that your abuser may try to follow you. Ask someone to walk with you to your car when you leave.
  6. Change passwords on all of your social media accounts. Remember that these accounts may track your location, especially if you have GPS tracking enabled on your cell phone or mobile device.
  7. Tell your children that, if there is violence, their job is to stay safe, not to protect you and call 911.
  8. To prevent parental kidnapping, make fingerprints of your children and keep them in a safe place. The Family Crisis Council can help with a protective order that may include a temporary custody order.
  9. Remember, when living your abuser that moment is the most dangerous time for you. You may want to leave when he/she is not present or with law enforcement. ​

If you would like assistance with a Personalized Safety Plan, you may call the Family Crisis Council at 704-636-4718 ext. 1 to speak with an Advocate.