POCKET SAFETY PLAN CARDS
A full safety plan can be deeply useful, but in a crisis it may not always be close at hand. These pocket cards turn the most immediate steps into a small reminder that can be kept in a wallet, bag, phone case, bedside drawer or another place that is easy to reach.
Each card asks for three pieces of personal information: what you will do to get through the next ten minutes, who you will contact and where you can go to be safer. The wording is deliberately brief. When thinking becomes narrowed by distress, a short and familiar instruction may be easier to follow than a long list.
The cards also include current UK urgent-support contacts. Call NHS 111 for urgent mental health help. Samaritans can be reached free on 116 123, and SHOUT offers confidential text support by texting SHOUT to 85258. If you have seriously harmed yourself, feel you may be about to act or cannot keep yourself safe, call 999 or go to A&E immediately.
I recommend completing these cards from a fuller safety plan rather than using them on their own. Write the name and number of a person who knows how to support you, and choose a safer place that is genuinely available. This could be with somebody you trust, a public or shared space, a crisis service or A&E when emergency help is needed.
You may want to keep more than one copy and give one to a trusted person. Review the details regularly, especially if telephone numbers, services, medication or personal circumstances change. The card should make reaching support simpler, not create another task to manage alone.
If you are currently in immediate danger, please do not spend time completing the card first. Call 999, go to A&E or ask somebody nearby to help you access emergency support now.
With warmth,
Maggie
Space to Breathe Therapy
UK crisis contacts checked August 2026. This resource does not replace emergency or personalised clinical care.
