Curiosity

[Unregistered]

So ive had problems with my parents for years now. I hate coming home because a sense of negativity is always there. Recently my parents put a restraining order on a good friend of mine and also won't allow me to see some of my friends. I'm subjected to emotional abuse and it really takes a toll on me.. When i try and tell my mom how i feel i get shut up, and when i do happen to get a word in, she tells me i'm wrong, my thought process is stupid, and she makes me feel worthless. My dad on the other hand has a lot of anger issues. Ive called CPS before, and talked to a teacher at school and a case was opened up on them, however nothing came of it. I have a 4 year old sister and they treat her like and angel, and she is happy with them, so i feel like pushing the CPS case will hurt her and thats the last thing i want. I graduate in December, and i just turned 17. Id like to move out and go back to Illinois as soon as schools over. But i'm afraid that if i leave they'll file a runaway report on me and i'll be forced back home. I have a job i can transfer with and have somewhere to live in Illinois. Since i'm 17 is there anyway i can get away with living with a friend or relative without their permission? Theres no way i could get their permission because ultimatly they dont want anything good for me unless it benefits them.
I'm so tired of feeling this way..

Help.

[ccsmod2]

Thank you for reaching out and telling us what is going on. It was very courageous of you to ask for help; that is sometimes the hardest thing to do. It sounds like you have a lot going on right now.

We are sorry to hear that things are rough for you at home and that it’s difficult for you to go there. It sounds like your mom says some pretty unsupportive things to you and it sounds difficult for you. We are glad to hear that you have tried reaching out to CPS but it sounds like they weren’t very much help for you. Again, we are sorry to hear that because nobody deserves to feel unsafe or scared to be at home. Do you think that your parents would ever harm your little sister when she gets older?

You said that your parents recently put a restraining order against one of your friends and limits your ability to see your other friends. Would you mind telling us what happened that your parents did that?

It sounds like you are planning on leaving after you graduate high school in December, is that correct? You said that you just turned 17 and will be 17 when you leave home. We aren’t legally trained here so we can’t tell you for sure what would happen if you were to leave. Generally speaking, if you are still under 18 and leave home, you may be considered a runaway. If your parents were to file a report with the police and you were located, the police would probably contact your parents to let them know.

It sounds like you have a plan for coming to IL and that you have somewhere to stay when you get there. How do you know the people you are planning to stay with? You asked if you could stay with someone without talking to your parents; unfortunately, since we aren’t legally trained, we can’t give you a specific answer about that. Again, generally speaking, the people you are staying with could get into trouble if you were to stay there. If your parents find out where you are staying, they may have the option to charge them with harboring a runaway or contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The consequences for those vary from state to state so we wouldn’t be able to tell you what would specifically happen.

Again, we are sorry to hear that things are so rough with your parents right now. It doesn’t sound like a very safe environment for you. If you would like to talk further about your options or to explore what resources may be available to you, please give us a call at 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929). We also have chat services that are available from 4:30 PM-11:30 PM (CST), 7 days a week at www.1800runaway.org.

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

~NRS