I need help asap! Please :'(

[Unregistered]

I'm 16 years old and I really want to leave home. I live with my dad and he treats me like ********, he is unreasonable and only cares about himself and not how his words or actions effect others...including me. When I was 11 my mother passed away and it left me extreamly depressed, on top of that my father had also grounded me for two years for talking to a boy that he didn't want me talking to. I was cut off from everybody and was extreamly depressed and I started cutting and I tried to kill myself because of it. My dad didn't help me at all through this, he didn't bring me to the hospital or anything to help. We were on good terms for a while but ever since I graduated high school he's me extreamly rude and mean and its making me feel like I'm falling back into that slump I was in when my mom passed I don't want to get as depressed as I was then, when we fight I get thouse thoughts again and I don't want to hurt myself...I don't feel safe here for that reason. My boyfriends mother agreed for me to stay there and she would care for me and feed me and treat me like her own, I would be giving her money for food and stuff anyways as a thankyou for helping me out. I have a job, a license, I've graduated high school, and plan to go to beauty school in September. I will be turing 17 in early September as well. I don't want to hurt myself and talking to my dad about this isn't going to do any good. I want to know my rights and how I can leave and live with my boyfriend as soon as possiable. Please help me

[ccsmod7]

Re: I need help asap! Please :'(

Hi,

Thank you for contacting us today. We’re really glad you reached out to us and shared what has been going on.

Here at NRS, we are not legal experts so we cannot speak in definite terms about legal issues. But in the United States, the age of majority is 18 in most states. What this means is that as a minor, your legal guardian is supposed to take care of you until 18. Running away is not illegal; it is considered a status offense because you are legally considered a minor. Your status as a minor is unaffected by the fact that you have graduated high school.

It sounds like you have been planning your future very thoroughly. If you have questions about your rights, an option that is available is to call your local police department’s non-emergency number. You can call them anonymously and ask about your rights as a 16 year old in your area and possibly get more straightforward answers than we are able to give at this time.

If you feel like you are suicidal, you can call the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255. If you feel like talking to someone may help you when you start feeling like you are going to cut, you can call us at our hotline at anytime.

We’re really glad you felt comfortable enough to share your story with us. If you have other questions about what other options you may have or if you would like to talk to someone on the phone, you can call us at anytime at 1-800-RUNAWAY or you can chat with us via our website from 4:30 PM to 11:30 PM CST every day.

Best of luck,

NRS