The JCADV will assist with referral to support groups and counseling services in your community. Please call the helpline for more information on groups and counseling services in your area.

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Safety Planning

It is important to always have a safety plan even if the victim decides to stay with the abuser. Domestic violence advocates will assist in creating a safety plan for the victim and his or her children.

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Important Plans to Consider

• What to do if the abuser becomes violent again and how will you keep you and your children safe?

• Do you have access to a phone to call the police or teach your children to call? Do you have family and friends to call in an emergency? It is important to decide on an emergency code or signal with the children or with trusted neighbors. Ask the neighbors to call the police if they see or hear anything suspicious around your home.

• Plan a time to make an easy and safe escape. Plan a route to get out of the house quickly. Cautiously rehearse the escape plan with your children. Create reasons for leaving the house at different times of day or night, like taking out the trash or visiting close friends and family. Back the car into the driveway and keep it fueled and ready to go in an emergency. Hide spare car and house keys in areas outdoors not easily discovered by the abuser.

• If you decide to leave the relationship and the home, decide who or where you, your children, and your pets can go and whom you can call for help. Do you have trusted people in your life that you can talk to about your situation?

• Make a list of names, addresses, and phone numbers of people and organizations you can go to for help. Keep the list in a safe place where the abuser cannot find it, preferably not in a cell phone, which can break or get lost or which the abuser can monitor, take, or destroy.

• If you are planning to leave the relationship see the “Items to Take Checklist” below. Keep important items, such as money, spare keys, changes of clothes, medicine, and copies of important documents, with someone you trust in case you need to leave quickly.

• Contact agencies in the community for domestic violence to learn about the resources available to you. Call the Jamaica Coalition Against Domestic Violence Helpline (1-800-598-7607) to confidentially speak with an advocate.

• Do you need a restraining order? Contact an attorney or domestic violence court advocate for information and support.

• Open a post office box so you can receive mail and have a safe address to use. Open a savings account at a bank not used by the abuser. Open the account in your name using a safe address or hide money to establish or increase your independence.

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Checklist of Items to Take when fleeing Abuse...

□ Identification & driver’s license

□ Car registration, title, & insurance

□ Birth certificates for self & children

□ TRN cards

□ School & medical records

□ Cash, bankbooks, ATM & credit cards

□ Extra keys – house/car/office

□ Changes of clothes

□ Medications

□ Eyeglasses & contacts

□ Food & supplies for pets

□ Pet registration & medical records

□ Cash & food assistance cards

□ Child support orders

□ Passport(s), Green Card, visa, permits

□ Divorce & custody documents

□ Marriage license

□ Copies of protective orders

□ Agreements - lease/rental/deeds

□ Mortgage payment book

□ Current unpaid bills in your name

□ Health & life insurance documents

□ Jewelry, heirlooms, photos, & items of sentimental value

□ Children’s toys & blankets

□ Address book/emergency numbers

• Jamaica Coalition Against Domestic Violence Helpline (1-800-598-7607)

• Trusted friends & family; school; work

• Local police; doctor’s office; hospital

• Community agencies; veterinarian