diff --git a/index.html b/index.html
index 06cff1c..5686b46 100644
--- a/index.html
+++ b/index.html
@@ -423,6 +423,35 @@ html, body {
   fill: currentColor;
 }
 
+/* Chat safety plan button — always visible, subtle */
+#chat-safety-plan-btn {
+  flex-shrink: 0;
+  width: 44px;
+  height: 44px;
+  background: transparent;
+  color: #8b949e;
+  border: 1px solid #30363d;
+  border-radius: 12px;
+  cursor: pointer;
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  justify-content: center;
+  transition: background 0.2s, color 0.2s, border-color 0.2s;
+  -webkit-appearance: none;
+}
+#chat-safety-plan-btn:hover,
+#chat-safety-plan-btn:focus {
+  background: #161b22;
+  color: #58a6ff;
+  border-color: #58a6ff;
+  outline: 2px solid #58a6ff;
+  outline-offset: 2px;
+}
+#chat-safety-plan-btn svg {
+  width: 20px;
+  height: 20px;
+}
+
 /* ===== MODALS ===== */
 .modal-overlay {
   position: fixed;
@@ -675,6 +704,9 @@ html, body {
       <button id="send-btn" type="button" aria-label="Send message" disabled>
         <svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M2.01 21L23 12 2.01 3 2 10l15 2-15 2z"/></svg>
       </button>
+      <button id="chat-safety-plan-btn" type="button" aria-label="Open My Safety Plan" title="My Safety Plan">
+        <svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" aria-hidden="true" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round"><path d="M12 22s8-4 8-10V5l-8-3-8 3v7c0 6 8 10 8 10z"/></svg>
+      </button>
     </div>
   </div>
 
@@ -813,6 +845,7 @@ Sovereignty and service always.`;
   
   // Safety Plan Elements
   var safetyPlanBtn = document.getElementById('safety-plan-btn');
+  var chatSafetyPlanBtn = document.getElementById('chat-safety-plan-btn');
   var crisisSafetyPlanBtn = document.getElementById('crisis-safety-plan-btn');
   var safetyPlanModal = document.getElementById('safety-plan-modal');
   var closeSafetyPlan = document.getElementById('close-safety-plan');
@@ -1290,6 +1323,15 @@ Sovereignty and service always.`;
     _activateSafetyPlanFocusTrap(safetyPlanBtn);
   });
 
+  // Chat input area safety plan button — always visible (#38)
+  if (chatSafetyPlanBtn) {
+    chatSafetyPlanBtn.addEventListener('click', function() {
+      loadSafetyPlan();
+      safetyPlanModal.classList.add('active');
+      _activateSafetyPlanFocusTrap(chatSafetyPlanBtn);
+    });
+  }
+
   // Crisis panel safety plan button (if crisis panel is visible)
   if (crisisSafetyPlanBtn) {
     crisisSafetyPlanBtn.addEventListener('click', function() {
diff --git a/tests/test_safety_plan_in_chat.py b/tests/test_safety_plan_in_chat.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..63211dd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_safety_plan_in_chat.py
@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+"""
+Tests for #38 — Safety plan accessible from chat (not just overlay).
+
+Verifies:
+1. Safety plan button exists in the input area
+2. Button has proper ARIA attributes
+3. Button is keyboard focusable
+4. Button does not require crisis detection to be visible
+"""
+
+import re
+import unittest
+from pathlib import Path
+
+
+INDEX_HTML = Path(__file__).parent.parent / "index.html"
+
+
+class TestSafetyPlanInChat(unittest.TestCase):
+    @classmethod
+    def setUpClass(cls):
+        cls.html = INDEX_HTML.read_text()
+
+    def test_chat_safety_plan_button_exists(self):
+        """Button #chat-safety-plan-btn exists in the DOM."""
+        self.assertIn('id="chat-safety-plan-btn"', self.html)
+
+    def test_button_has_aria_label(self):
+        """Button has aria-label for screen readers."""
+        match = re.search(
+            r'<button[^>]*id="chat-safety-plan-btn"[^>]*aria-label="([^"]*)"',
+            self.html
+        )
+        self.assertIsNotNone(match, "chat-safety-plan-btn missing aria-label")
+        self.assertIn("safety", match.group(1).lower())
+
+    def test_button_has_title(self):
+        """Button has title attribute for tooltip."""
+        self.assertRegex(
+            self.html,
+            r'<button[^>]*id="chat-safety-plan-btn"[^>]*title="[^"]*"[^>]*>'
+        )
+
+    def test_button_is_in_input_area(self):
+        """Button is inside #input-area, not in crisis overlay."""
+        input_area = re.search(
+            r'<div id="input-area">(.*?)</div>\s*</div>',
+            self.html, re.DOTALL
+        )
+        self.assertIsNotNone(input_area)
+        self.assertIn('chat-safety-plan-btn', input_area.group(1))
+
+    def test_button_not_in_crisis_overlay(self):
+        """Button is NOT inside #crisis-overlay (always visible, no detection)."""
+        overlay = re.search(
+            r'<div id="crisis-overlay".*?</div>\s*</div>',
+            self.html, re.DOTALL
+        )
+        if overlay:
+            self.assertNotIn('chat-safety-plan-btn', overlay.group(0))
+
+    def test_button_has_shield_icon(self):
+        """Button includes a shield SVG icon."""
+        btn_match = re.search(
+            r'<button[^>]*id="chat-safety-plan-btn"[^>]*>(.*?)</button>',
+            self.html, re.DOTALL
+        )
+        self.assertIsNotNone(btn_match)
+        self.assertIn('svg', btn_match.group(1).lower())
+        # Shield path
+        self.assertIn('M12 22s8-4 8-10V5l-8-3-8 3v7c0 6 8 10 8 10z', btn_match.group(1))
+
+    def test_css_exists_for_button(self):
+        """CSS rules exist for #chat-safety-plan-btn."""
+        self.assertIn('#chat-safety-plan-btn', self.html)
+        # Check for hover/focus styles
+        self.assertIn('#chat-safety-plan-btn:hover', self.html)
+        self.assertIn('#chat-safety-plan-btn:focus', self.html)
+
+    def test_javascript_listener_exists(self):
+        """JavaScript event listener exists for the button."""
+        self.assertIn('chatSafetyPlanBtn', self.html)
+        self.assertIn("chatSafetyPlanBtn.addEventListener('click'", self.html)
+
+    def test_javascript_calls_load_safety_plan(self):
+        """Click handler calls loadSafetyPlan() and shows modal."""
+        listener = re.search(
+            r'chatSafetyPlanBtn\.addEventListener.*?\{(.*?)\}',
+            self.html, re.DOTALL
+        )
+        self.assertIsNotNone(listener)
+        body = listener.group(1)
+        self.assertIn('loadSafetyPlan()', body)
+        self.assertIn("safetyPlanModal.classList.add('active')", body)
+
+    def test_focus_trap_uses_button_as_return_target(self):
+        """Focus trap returns focus to chatSafetyPlanBtn when modal closes."""
+        self.assertIn('_activateSafetyPlanFocusTrap(chatSafetyPlanBtn)', self.html)
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()