1. What Is Safety Planning?

Safety planning involves identifying potential risks to a person's safety or wellbeing and creating strategies to manage those risks. In supported housing, safety plans help protect residents whilst respecting their right to make their own choices. They're collaborative tools, created with the person rather than imposed on them, that help everyone involved understand what to do if concerning situations arise.

Safety planning isn't about eliminating all risk, which is impossible and would require unacceptable restriction of freedom. It's about thoughtful consideration of risks and realistic strategies to reduce them whilst allowing the person to live their life.

2. When Safety Planning Is Needed

Safety planning might be needed in various situations, including when there are concerns about:

  • Self-harm or suicide
  • Domestic violence or other relationship issues
  • Substance use that creates risks
  • Mental health deterioration
  • Exploitation or abuse by others
  • Risk to others
  • Behaviours that could lead to tenancy loss

Safety planning should happen proactively where risks are known, rather than only responding after incidents occur.

3. Creating a Safety Plan

Effective safety plans are created collaboratively with the person they're for. The process involves:

  • Identifying what the risks are
  • Discussing warning signs that risks might be increasing
  • Identifying what helps and what makes things worse
  • Agreeing on strategies to manage risks
  • Deciding who needs to be involved and what their role is
  • Documenting the plan clearly

The person's voice should be central throughout. What do they think the risks are? What strategies have worked before? What do they want others to do if they're struggling? Their input makes plans more effective and more likely to be followed.

4. Risk Assessment

Risk assessment is part of safety planning. It involves systematically considering the likelihood and potential impact of risks. Good risk assessment:

  • Considers the person's history and current situation
  • Identifies specific triggers or patterns
  • Weighs likelihood against impact
  • Considers protective factors as well as risks
  • Informs proportionate responses rather than overreacting

Risk assessment should be dynamic, reviewed regularly as circumstances change, rather than a one-off exercise.

5. Crisis Planning

Part of safety planning is having a crisis plan for when situations deteriorate significantly. Crisis plans might include:

  • Contact numbers for emergency services and crisis support
  • Who to contact and in what order
  • What the person wants others to do
  • What helps and what doesn't when in crisis
  • When to involve emergency services
  • Advance decisions about treatment if applicable

Having a crisis plan means everyone knows what to do, reducing panic and increasing chances of effective intervention.

6. Balancing Safety and Choice

One of the most challenging aspects of safety planning is balancing safety concerns with the person's right to make their own choices, including choices that others see as risky. This balance requires:

  • Respecting that adults have the right to make unwise decisions
  • Ensuring decisions are informed, that the person understands risks
  • Being clear about what level of risk is and isn't acceptable
  • Involving the person in decisions about their safety
  • Not using safety as a reason to control every aspect of someone's life

There are no easy answers here. Each situation requires careful thought and often involves uncomfortable compromises between competing values.

7. Reviewing and Updating Plans

Safety plans shouldn't be static. They need regular review and updating as circumstances, risks, or the person's wishes change. Reviews should:

  • Happen at regular intervals and after incidents
  • Involve the person whose safety plan it is
  • Consider what's working and what isn't
  • Update strategies and contacts as needed
  • Ensure everyone involved knows about changes

A safety plan that's never reviewed becomes out of date and ineffective.

8. Final Thoughts

Safety planning is an essential part of supporting vulnerable adults in housing. When done well, it protects people whilst respecting their autonomy. It provides clarity about how to respond to difficult situations and reduces both risk and anxiety. But it requires skill, judgement, and a genuine commitment to collaboration. Safety planning that's imposed rather than developed with someone rarely works well.

If you're involved in safety planning, remember that the goal is protection through partnership, not control. The person whose safety is being planned for should be at the centre of the process, their voice should shape the plan, and their dignity should be preserved throughout.