Safety Planning

A safety plan is a personalized, practical plan that includes ways to increase the likelihood of safety. It is *best done with a confidential resource*.
Safety planning helps one manage emotions, inform trusted people about the situation, minimize risk, explore legal options, and prepare for various scenarios that might arise.

A safety plan is tailored to each unique situation – a good plan is fluid and flexible, given the complexities that might arise. One size does not fit all.

Various types of safety planning might be relevant, depending on the situation and who needs the plan and who is making the plan.

Remember, the person in the relationship knows their situation best but can usually use support to work on a safety plan with someone who is not also in their unsafe situation but is aware of various options and can discuss them confidentially. You can support a loved one in finding them a reliable resource to plan with. See more here for Important Safety Notices about detailed safety plans

Important Safety Notice: Internet activity can sometimes be monitored by the person causing abuse/harm. If you are concerned about your browsing history, consider using a device that is not accessible to others. For more on device safety, please visit Safety Net Project.

Important Safety Notice: For your and other survivors’ safety, Sikh Family Center will not post detailed safety planning examples. However we are always available for a private, detailed discussion. For support with personalized safety planning, please contact our Helpline.

Safety Planning is best done with a Private and/or Confidential Resource!

Contact Sikh Family Center.

Institutionally, we engage with our Gurdwaras to make better plans for survivors of trauma (and you can work with us to bring such planning to your gurdwara!)

Gurdwaras: Family Violence Resource Guide

Individually, we work with survivors of gender violence to plan for safety in different situations.

Individually, we work with anyone feeling mental health stresses, including thoughts of self-harm or suicide.

Sikh Family Center’s National U.S. Helpline can arrange a free triage session with a culturally sensitive Mental Health expert to address urgent mental wellness needs.

Our experts volunteer their time to gently assess immediate mental wellness needs and concerns.

They provide limited but effective information and support in English or Punjabi.

The experts offer recommendations and potential options to progress care.

Do you need urgent mental health support?

For Time-sensitive and Emergency Support, contact, contact a 24/7 resource or hotline.

You can contact our Helpline peer counselors for support at (remember, the Helpline is not an emergency or 24/7 live hotline)

Individually, we encourage everyone feeling overwhelmed by news, violence, world events to consider how to increase their emotional safety.

Emotional Safety Check Plan

Download Here

Individually, we support you to support a loved one who is in an unsafe situation.

You can support a loved one to think about making a plan that works for them, instead of asking them to do exactly what you think you would do in their situation.

Remember, in domestic/dating/family violence situations a safety plan is relevant at all times for a victim-survivor, and responses like “just leave” or “just go back” or “just file for divorce” are often not the safest advice, without other serious considerations.

Feel free to contact us to safety plan better for a loved one.