PLANNING YOUR SAFETY FOR LEAVING

	• Do not tell the abuser when you are leaving or where you are going
	• Contact a shelter or 24-hour line for women to discuss in detail how to leave safely and what resources are available to you
	• Stay at a shelter or have a shelter help you relocate to another city if that feels safer
	• Request police come to your home when you are leaving
	• If you have to leave quickly, you can ask for a police escort back to your home to pick-up your personal items
	• Get a safety deposit box/and /or a post office box
	• Use a pay phone to make calls that you do not want the abuser to know about
	• Open up a bank account in a bank the abuser does not know about and arrange for statements to be picked up or sent to a friend’s home
	• Use a trusted friend or family member’s address for any mail
	• Clear your phone of the last number you called to avoid the abuser utilizing redial
	• If you have a pet that you can’t take with you, contact the Toronto Humane Society

ITEMS YOU MAY WANT TO TAKE WITH YOU WHEN YOU LEAVE

	• Personal identification including: social insurance card, driver’s licence and registration, OHIP card, passports and any immigration papers
	• Children’s birth certificates and OHIP cards
	• School and medical/vaccination records
	• Necessary medications and medical supplies for self and children
	• Money
	• Chequebooks, credit cards and ATM cards
	• Bank books and statements
	• Keys for home, storage, car, work, safety deposit box etc.
	• Copies of all court orders: restraining orders, peace bonds, bail papers, custody and access agreements, divorce papers, etc.
	• Lease/rental agreements, deeds, mortgage agreement, insurance policies and other papers concerning assets
	• Small, valuable objects such as jewellery
	• Sentimental items
	• Address book with all telephone and other numbers you may need
	• Appointment book
	• Pictures or other evidence of the abuse