Making a Safety Plan, One Quiet Step at a Time
A safety plan isn't a single dramatic decision. It's a quiet collection of small preparations that make you a little safer today, and a little freer tomorrow — whether or not you ever decide to leave. You don't need to do all of it, and you don't need to do any of it at once.
Gather the essentials, quietly.
When it's safe, set aside copies of important documents — IDs, birth certificates, immigration papers, insurance cards — along with a little money, spare keys, and any medications. Some people keep a small bag with a trusted friend, a neighbor, or at work, rather than at home where it might be found.
Decide where you'd go.
A friend's couch, a relative's place, or a shelter bed. People's Place runs Sussex County's emergency shelter and can hold a plan ready for you. You can call to think it through long before you're ready to act.
Agree on a signal.
A code word or emoji that tells a trusted person to call for help, or to come get you. Plan the route out of your home, and where the calmer exits are.
Leaving is statistically the most dangerous moment in an abusive relationship. The point of a plan is not to rush you — it's to make sure that when the moment is yours, it's as safe as it can be.
Advocates do this every day and will never push you. To build a plan together, free and confidentially, call the Kent & Sussex hotline at 302-422-8058 (bilingüe: 302-745-9874).