A safety plan helps you to identify the steps that you can take to increase your personal safety. These steps help you to prepare for the possibility of further violence.

If I am starting to feel unsafe with my partner, I can:

• Ask my partner to leave. If they refuse, I can get help from my Resident Assistant, Residence Hall Director, Apartment Manager or someone in my building, or I can call the police.
• Make sure that I have a ready excuse for why I need to leave
• Have a code word or phrase that lets my friends know I need help. I will figure out ways to get this info to my friends without being detected
• Pre-program 911 into my cell phone
• Move to a room with easy access to an exit and avoid rooms like the kitchen or bathroom or anywhere with weapons

If I need a safe place to go, I can:

• Contact _________to see if I can stay with them
• Arrange with friends ahead of time to stay at their place if necessary
• Contact the local police department for an escort to a safe place
• Call VPAS or URI police if it is afterhours for help in arranging an emergency place to stay

Once my partner has left, I can do the following to help keep myself safe:

• Contact the local police department to report any crime that may have occurred. (i.e. grabbing, hitting, threatening, harassment)
• Contact the local court or police to obtain a restraining order. VPAS can help me with this process.
• Talk with my friends and other people in my building about ways to help me stay safe, including not propping the door open, and letting me know if my abuser is in the building
• Call VPAS  for information and support regarding my options on what to do next
• Make sure that any broken locks or windows are replaced. Work with your landlord or residential life to change or add locks, if necessary

If I am injured as a result of my partner’s abuse, I can:

• Seek emergency medical assistance by dialing 911
• Go to the nearest emergency room
• Have my injuries checked at URI Health Services

VPAS can accompany me to any of these medical appointments.

For more long term help, I can:

• Learn about my academic options if I find that my academic work is being impacted by this situation
• Talk with VPAS about if and how my parents should be notified
• Request that disciplinary action be taken against my abuser through Title IX and/or Community Standards if it is a fellow URI student.
• Better understand my feelings about what has happened by getting help with a mental health provider or by joining the survivor group offered by VPAS