YWCA Fresh Start start 3:Layout 1 - YWCA Canada

YWCA CANADA | A TURNING POINT FOR WOMEN• Do you begin to get stomach pains or feel increasingly anxious?• Are there situations in which abuse typically will start such as aspecific time of day or special days like birthdays, holidays, paydaysor after he has been drinking alcohol?• Have circumstances changed for either of you, such as a pregnancy,illness, job loss, pending separation, changing jobs, moving?Pay attention to your intuition and your body responses. They areoften right.Gather informationThe first step in making a safety plan is to gather information.Information is power, and can greatly improve your ability to survive.What you need to know to keep yourself safe depends on yoursituation. You may need to know about emergency shelters or longertermhousing, how to get custody of your children, how to open abank account, how to change the locks on the doors to your home ormany other things.Try to find someone who will help you get the information you need,who will not tell your partner and who will not blame you for yoursituation.You could call the YWCA in your community for support andinformation. If you do not have a YWCA, there are many othersources of information in your community.A number of cities in Canada, including Toronto, Edmonton andCalgary, have 211 services. By dialing 211, you can reach a full rangeof community support services in that city. For a full list of cities withthis service, see the resources section or go to www.211Canada.caonline.Women’s shelters can provide a great deal of helpful information overthe telephone. You do not have to go to the shelter to stay or even giveyour name in order to get information and support. You can find thetelephone numbers for shelters, distress lines and sexual assault lines,as well as the police emergency number and other provincial policeservices in the front pages of your phone book.Community health clinics, hospital emergency departments, policeservices, native friendship centres, some religious or spiritual centres,cultural or community centres and national organizations such as32