Personal Safety Plan & Emergency Checklist
Fill this out on a calm day. Keep a copy somewhere you can find it fast — your phone, your wallet, your car, a trusted friend.
For suicide or mental-health crisis, call or text 988 (24/7).
For domestic violence in Massachusetts, call SafeLink: 877-785-2020 (24/7, multilingual).
1. My warning signs
Thoughts, feelings, situations, or behaviors that tell me a crisis may be building.
2. What helps me calm down on my own
Walk, music, prayer, breathing, a shower, a specific photo, a song — write what actually works for you.
3. People I can call (not professionals)
4. Professionals & agencies
5. Massachusetts crisis & support numbers
911
Immediate danger
988
Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call or text)
833-773-2445
MA Behavioral Health Help Line, 24/7
877-870-4673
Samaritans Statewide (call or text)
877-785-2020
SafeLink — Domestic Violence, 24/7
800-632-8188
Parental Stress Line, 24/7
2-1-1
Mass 2-1-1: housing, food, basics
888-244-6843
INTERFACE Referral Service (therapist matching)
6. Make the moment safer
Things I will move, store, or hand to someone else so I am safer in a crisis (medications, firearms, alcohol, car keys, etc.).
7. My reasons to keep going
Emergency Go-Bag & Document Checklist
If you may need to leave your home suddenly, gather these now and keep them in one place — a bag in your car, with a trusted person, or in a locked drawer you can grab quickly.
Identification & legal
- Driver's license / state ID (yours and children's)
- Passports, birth certificates, Social Security cards
- Immigration / residency documents
- Marriage license, divorce papers, custody / parenting orders
- Restraining orders, police reports, 209A paperwork
- Health insurance cards, vaccination records
Money & access
- Cash in small bills
- Credit / debit cards in your own name
- Checkbook, bank account & routing numbers
- House, car, and safe-deposit keys
- Phone charger and a backup phone if possible
- Written list of phone numbers (don't rely on your phone only)
For your children
- Medications, inhalers, EpiPens, prescriptions
- Comfort item: blanket, stuffed animal, favorite book
- Change of clothes and basic toiletries
- School records, IEP / 504 plans
- Photos of the children (recent, clear face)
Evidence & records
- Copies (paper or USB) of texts, emails, voicemails
- Journal / log of incidents with dates and times
- Medical and therapy records
- Photos of injuries or property damage
- Names and contact info of witnesses
Before you go
- Tell one trusted person where you are going
- Change passwords on email, banking, and social accounts
- Turn off location sharing on your phone
- Know two routes out of your home and neighborhood
- Identify a safe place: friend, family, shelter (SafeLink can help find one)