If you are ready to leave an abusive relationship, first plan for your safety. 

Pack a bag of important items to bring with you, including:

• Birth certificates for you and your children.
• Social Security cards for you and your children
• Driver's license and other forms of ID
• Health insurance cards and medications
• Checkbooks, credit cards, financial documents, and cash
• Car keys and house/apartment keys
• Deed or lease to your house or apartment
• Any legal documents, including restraining orders, custody orders, immigration papers, etc
• Photos or mementos
• Children's favorite toys

If you choose to stay

• Pack a bag with important things you'd need if you had to leave quickly; put it in a safe place or give it to a friend or relative you trust
• Keep a cell phone with you at all times (Turningpoint can provide emergency cell phones)
• Plan an escape route out of your home; teach it to your children
• Ask your neighbors to call the police if they notice anything strange; make a signal for them to call the police, such as if a particular light is on or shade is pulled down
• Document injuries and save emails, phone calls, and text messages
• Open a bank account or credit card in your own name or have money stored in a secret place.  Make sure your accounts have passwords that your abuser can't guess
• Understant that domestic violence tends to get worse over time and usually requires intervention for an abuser to change his or her behavior