Click here to view our Safety Brochure. (coming soon)
Consider these few things when thinking about your safety:
Does your spouse, intimate partner, relative, or caregiver:
- Say things to scare you?
- Call you names and insult you?
- Stop you from seeing family or friends?
- Cause you to miss medical and other appointments?
- Withhold your food, medications, wheelchair or other assistive devices?
- Physically hurt you (slap, kick, hit, pull your hair, and push you)?
- Touch you inappropriately?
- Hurt or threaten to hurt (or neglect) your pets or people you care about?
- Make any threats or refuse to file paperwork in an effort to control you?
- Take your money or buy things in your name?
IT IS NOT OK for anyone to
- Hurt you or touch you inappropriately
- Withhold emotional support, medications or food
- Threaten you in any way
- Neglect you
- Financially exploit you.
IT IS OK to ASK FOR HELP
Click here to view our Safety Brochure.
Here Are Some Suggestions That May Keep You Safe:
- Trust your gut. You know your situation better than anyone.
- Keep a list of emergency phone numbers in a safe place.
- If possible, keep a cell phone with you at all times.
- Select a code word that alerts friends, neighbors or others that you are in danger and to call the police.
- Plan an escape route, if possible. Avoid rooms where you may be trapped (kitchen, bathroom etc.) or where your abuser can find something to use as a weapon.
- Pack a bag with important things you would need if you had to leave quickly; put it in a secret place, or give it to a friend or relative you trust.
- Set-up alternative personal assistance if needed. Call ahead and talk with a caseworker, independent living center, or disability organization to identify emergency personal attendant (PA)/caregivers if you foresee the need to leave or have an abusive PA/caregiver removed.
- Plan for transportation to leave an abusive situation or seek support. Make sure your vehicle and any adaptations are in working order. Keep the gas tank at least half full so you always have enough gas if you need to leave in a hurry. Most transportation services require 24-hour notice so you will have to plan your leaving in advance. If you are not currently using special transportation services and are eligible, consider applying.
The period immediately after leaving can be a dangerous time. This is when the abuser may be the most violent.
WHAT YOU MAY NEED WHEN PREPARING TO LEAVE:
IDENTIFICATION:
- Driver’s License
- Birth Certificate
- Social Security Card
- Passport
- Other Identification
- Medical Insurance Cards
LEGAL DOCUMENTS:
- Lease, deed or mortgage papers
- Car registration & insurance
- Health & life insurance papers
- Medical records
- Passport, green card or visa
OTHER THINGS:
- Money, ATM or credit cards
- Checkbook or other bank records
- Keys
- Medications
- Address book
- Valuables
- Photo of abuser
- Assistive Devices
- Medications
THINGS TO CONSIDER:
- Open a savings account in your name
- Get a post office box or ask about the Address Confidentiality Program
- Seek a protection order
- Contact the crisis line for help.
Click here to view other Resources for Help.
