I'm being thrown out!

[Unregistered]

I am a 17 year old girl living in Ca, my mother is a single parent and is constantly throwing me out and ridiculing me, I've had enough of her abuse! She has recently sent me text messages in which she is telling me to get out of her house and go somewhere else because I am not welcome. I have saved these text messages and have spoken with my godmother she is willing to take me in but is afraid my mother will cause her legal problems. Can she get my godmother in trouble for taking me into her home or get me in a legal issue? Thank You.

[ccsmod2]

Thank you for contacting the National Runaway Switchboard to tell us what is going on. It sounds like you are in a very difficult situation right now and we are glad that you have reached out to us for assistance.

We are sorry to hear that your mom is constantly kicking you out and ridiculing you. Do you know what makes her do or say these things? It’s good that you saved the text messages she sent to you because you may be able to show those to the police or other officials if you need to.

It’s great that you have a good relationship with your godmother and that you are able to go there. Unfortunately, we aren’t legally trained here so we can’t tell you for sure what would happen if you were to go there. Generally speaking, she may get into trouble for harboring a runaway or contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The consequences for that vary from state to state so we can’t tell you what would happen for sure. One place that may be able to give you a definite answer is called Justice for Children. They can help provide you with advocacy and to develop a plan of action. They can also explain what your rights are. Their phone number is 1-800-733-0059 and their website is www.jfcadvocacy.org. Also, the local police can explain what would happen if you were to go to your godmother’s house. If you want to call them but aren’t comfortable doing so on your own, we can help you by making a conference call with you.

Here at the National Runaway Switchboard, we are a confidential and anonymous hotline that is available 24 hours a day. We have a database of resources (legal aid, shelter, medical assistance) that we can help you locate if you need anything like that. You can reach us 24 hours a day at 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929) or through our online chat from 4:30 PM-11:30 PM (CST) located on our website (http://www.1800runaway.org).

We wish you the best of luck and look forward to hearing from you.

~NRS