Planning to Leave:

This is one of the most immense and scariest times when planning to leave. SIS/BRO YOU GOT THIS!!!

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• Establish your independence. Open savings and credit card accounts in your name only, and have all statements go to your PO BOX.
   

• Have a bagged packed : include an extra set of keys, identification, car title, birth certificate, social security card, clothes for you and your children — shoes, money, jewelry — anything important to you.
   

• Determine safe people you can stay with me if you have to leave.
   

• Review and rehearse the safety plan. 

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Remember, your partner may monitor your texts, emails, and internet activity. Make sure you change all emails. Also, have money put aside to purchase a new phone.  If you are planning to flee to a particular location, use a computer at the public library. 

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Because violence could escalate when you leave, call Survivors With A Testimony Inc 24-hour Helpline to get support and help with planning for your safety. Keep any evidence of physical abuse, such as pictures of injuries, backup to an external drive or send to a friend you can trust and you can also email them to info@survivorswithatestimony.org. 

If possible, keep a journal of all violence incidents, noting dates, events and threats made and make sure to keep your journal in a safe place. It would help to know where you can go to get help from someone outside the situation, who will trust what is happening to you.

If you are injured, go to a doctor or emergency room and report what happened to you. Ask that they document your visit.

Finally, plan with your children and identify a safe place for them, like a room with a lock or a friend’s house where they can go for help. Reassure them that their job is to stay safe, not to protect you.