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Survivors

About the program

What?

Safe at Home (SAH) is an address confidentiality program that provides the following services:

Substitute Address

Safe at Home assigns program participants a substitute address. A program participant may request that a governmental entity use the substitute address. A state of Ohio governmental entity must accept the substitute address at the program participant’s request. A program participant may also request that a private entity use the substitute address, but the law does not require a private entity to accept it

Mail Forwarding

Safe at Home will forward all qualifying mail to each program participant every day that the Secretary of State’s office is open.

Confidential Voter Registration

Safe at Home program participants may register to vote with a confidential voter registration record. The registration information of a program participant with a confidential voter registration record will not be accessible to the public.

WHO?

An individual who is a survivor of, or who lives in the same household as a survivor of:
• domestic violence
• stalking
• human trafficking
• rape
• sexual battery

Safe at Home will not be as effective if a program participant fears that the abuser is aware of or could know where the program participant lives. The program is most effective when the program participant has just moved or will move in the immediate future.

Safe at Home is not:
• A witness protection program.
• Capable of shielding a program participant from legal obligations.
• A complete safety plan.

GET STARTED

  1. Find an Application Assistant certified by the Secretary of State’s Office:
    SafeAtHomeOhio.gov
    614.995.2255

  2. Visit an Application Assistant
    Complete an application, return it to the Safe at Home office at:
    Ohio Secretary of State
    PO Box 16395
    Columbus, OH 43216

  3. You will be contacted by Safe at Home staff
    If certified, you will receive a participant packet and card in the mail.
      
  4. Begin using your new substitute address.

CLICK HERE TO LOCATE AN APPLICATION ASSISTANT

To learn about or apply for victims compensation, click here to visit the Ohio Attorney General’s website.

INTERNET SAFETY

Computers can track information, such as websites you have visited and emails you have sent. If you are in danger, try to use a safe computer that the person you fear cannot access. The following are instructions on how to delete your browsing history using different browsers.

GOOGLE CHROME:

1. Click on the dropdown menu in the top right corner.
2. Click on History
3. Click on History again
4. Click on Clear Browsing Data
5. Use the drop down menu to select how far back to delete (“the beginning of time” deletes all)
6. Click on Clear Data

GOOGLE CHROME (DELETING SPECIFIC ITEMS):

1. Click on the dropdown menu in the top right corner.
2. Click on History
3. Click on History again
4. Mark a check mark next to entries you want to delete
5. Click on Delete at the top

MICROSOFT EDGE:

1. Open History (Ctrl+H)
2. Click “…” (More options)
3. Click “Clear Browsing Data”
4. Select a Time range
5. Choose what to clear
6. Click “Clear now” button

 

MICROSOFT EDGE (DELETING SPECIFIC SITES):

1. Open History (Ctrl+H)
2. Hover over the specific site
3. Click the “X” that appears to the right of the site

SAFARI:

1. Click the Safari Tab
2. Select Reset Safari
3. Check Clear History
4. Click on Reset

SAFARI (DELETING SPECIFIC ITEMS):

1. Click on the History Tab
2. Click Show History
3. Right click on the item and click Delete

FIREFOX:

1. Using your keyboard, hit Control, Shift and Delete at the same time
2. Use the drop down menu to choose which time range you would like to delete
3. Click Clear Now to confirm

FIREFOX (DELETING SPECIFIC ITEMS):

1. Click the Menu button
2. Select Settings
3. Click Privacy
4. Click Clear Now
5. Check the items you want to clear
6. Click Clear Data

 

Download the Checklist (PDF)