When is the best time to make a safety plan?
Pick a calm time, not during or right after a crisis.
Say why you are asking: "I want us to have a plan so we both know what to do if things get hard."
Let your loved one lead where possible. The plan works best in their own words.
What goes into a safety plan?
Write the answers down together.
- Warning signs. What tells you a hard time is starting? Examples: not sleeping, pulling away from people, skipping medication, or saying things feel hopeless.
- Things your loved one does to cope. What helps them feel steadier on their own? A walk, music, a shower, prayer, or a favorite show.
- People and places that help. Who can your loved one be around for distraction or comfort? A cousin, a friend, or a place of worship.
- People to ask for help. Write the names and phone numbers of family members and friends your loved one trusts to talk to.
- Who to call. List these in order. If anyone is in immediate danger, skip the list and call 911.
- 988 Suicide and Crisis line: call or text 988.
- The care team: psychiatrist, therapist, or case manager, with after hours numbers.
- Your county mobile crisis team. Find yours on our Illinois family help page, our Wisconsin family help page, our DC family help page, our Maryland family help page, our Virginia family help page, or our California family help page.
- 911 if someone is in immediate danger.
- Making the home safer. See the next section.
How do we make the home safer?
Harvard's Means Matter project says making dangerous items harder to reach during a crisis can save a life.
- Firearms. The safest choice is to store all guns away from home until things improve, such as with a trusted relative. State laws on lending guns vary, so check yours first. The next best choice is to lock them very securely, unloaded, with ammunition stored separately.
- Medications. Don't keep large amounts at home. Lock up what you keep, especially strong pain medicine. Ask a pharmacist or Poison Control (1-800-222-1222) about safe amounts, and safely dispose of medicine no one uses.
- Alcohol. Keep only small amounts at home. It raises overdose and crisis risk.
Where should we keep the plan?
Make copies where everyone can find them.
With your loved one's okay, put one on the fridge, one in their wallet or phone, and one with each person listed.
Give a copy to the care team and ask them to keep it on file.
When should we update the plan?
Review it after every hospital stay or crisis, after a medication change, and when phone numbers change.
Ask together: "What worked? What didn't? What should we add?"
What if our loved one won't make a plan?
You can still make your own family plan: your warning signs, your calls, and a safer home.
Learn more on our page about suicide warning signs and what to do. After a hospital stay, what to do after a crisis covers the first days back home.
Your family safety plan
Write this together on a calm day. Leave a box blank if you do not have it yet.
What you type is saved only in this browser, even after you close the page. Use Clear this plan on a shared computer.
This is general information, not legal or medical advice.
FAQ
Q: What is a family safety plan?
A short written list, made together on a calm day, of warning signs, ways to cope, people to reach, who to call, and steps to make the home safer.
Q: Who should have a copy of the safety plan?
Your loved one, every person named in it, and the care team. Keep one on the fridge too.
Q: What should we do with guns at home?
The safest choice is storing them away from home with someone trusted until things improve. If that is not possible, lock them very securely, unloaded, with ammunition stored separately.
Q: When should we update the safety plan?
After every hospital stay or crisis, after medication changes, and when contacts change.