i have a lot going on....

[anonymous]

ok well this is a lot but I really need to get this off my chest... im 15 years old and ive been through a lot in my life... let me just sum it up... I lived with my aunt in Louisiana for most of my life bc my dad was in jail and I didn't know my mom but turns out my mom was fighting for me in court while I lived with my aunt... I then got moved with my mom in texas while I was in the 4th grade and yeah it seemed cool because I actually got to see my sisters and stuff but she got married to this guy and he was abusive... as in physically... he abused me and my sisters for 3 years... then we all got put into foster care where I got moved from home to home bc back then I didn't know what was wrong or right bc I was taught to steal and everything else and I dint know any better but ive learned and im not like that any more... while I was in foster care I got put on medication for depression but a week before I moved they took me off of my medication, to live with my other aunt back in Louisiana keeping in mind its not the same one I lived with when I was younger... ive lived here for about 16 months now and the days are getting worse and worse sometimes I don't even know why im in trouble... last night the electricity was out bc we have construction going on at our house... I was trying to dry the dishes , keep in mind its dark, and I put the dishes up and I eat dinner with everyone else... its a perfect night everything seems fine... till after we get done eating my aunt goes to get a plastic bowl and she gets a major temper and says that its soaken wet... so she throws all the bowls out the drawer and throws them on the ground... so I go pick one up and its not even wet... but when I try to show her its not wet she comes over and try to hit me in the face so I block her and she grabs my arm and digs her nails into my arm... I scream stop so she try to hit me again so I block her again and then she says that I hit her like WHAT!? *uff* anyways after that I picked up all the bowls and she goes over to my big sister who isn't completely done eating yet and she screams at her for not eating all her salad... so then my aunt sits down and calls the casa worker and tells her that were being rude and talking back and stuff idk she acts like shes the perfect aunt/mom or what not idk... the casa worker says that shes coming Saturday and I really don't want to get moved back to texas :"( my friend and his mom says they'd take me in and my sister will be 18 in 2 weeks and I think shes moving out soon... ive read what you've posted on other peoples problems and ive thought about running away a lot... I know it would probably put my friends family in trouble but I did read that they could call the police and tell them or whatever you said and idk what to do I just cnt stay here bc when she screams at me it reminds me of my abusive stepdad and then my aunt has been trying to hit me lately and I just cant take this anymore... I try not to scream back so the only thing that keeps me from yelling back is self harm and yes I know that's not good... ive tried stopping ok... I don't need that number or whatever I don't normally let out my feelings to anyone but anyways respond soon plz

[ccsmod8]

RE: i have a lot going on....

Hello,

Thank you for taking the time out and writing into the National Runaway Safeline bulletin board. From your post, it sounds like you’re going through a very rough and difficult time right now living with your aunt. Everything that you have told us you definitely don’t have to be treated that way. Especially when you’re at home (foster to not); a place that is supposed to be a safe and loving place for you. You always have the right to report any type of abuse to your local police department or child protective service in your state. If you don’t feel like you’re not comfortable or if you might not know how to do that, you can always call us anytime you want. There is always someone here to help you and if your immediate safety is at risk then calling your local police is the best idea and try to removing yourself from the situation.

You mentioned that you might have a friend and his parents that you are thinking about staying with to get away from the abuse. It sounds like you have been doing your research on things like what would happen to your friend and yourself if you were to run away. Now unfortunately here at NRS, we can’t tell you in definite terms what would happen if you were leave and live with your friend and his family. Laws on that specific subject vary from state to state, so our advice would be call your local non-emergency police number to get more information on that. It sounds like you have given a lot of thought in to what you want to do in your situation. A general fact in most states, that because you are a minor your aunt can still file a runaway report for you and your friend’s parents might face legal consequences for harboring a runaway if they withhold information on you. If the police do find you and your mother has made a runaway report, they only thing that would happen is that they would bring you back home back to your aunt since running away if only a status offence. If you tell them what’s going on they might have to go through Child Protective Services to see if you need to be placed in an emergency housing.

From what you have told us it sounds like one of the ways that you are thinking about doing is run away from home. It sounds like you have been thinking about it a lot. What do you think your overall plan is (i.e how long would you be able to stay, transposition, financial stability, school options, etc)?

[anonymous]

me again... URGENT PLZ RESPOND

I have thought a bout it a lot and ive been staying with my aunt but we got in another argument right after the case worker came and talked to us... I kept my cool as she screamed at me and im not even really sure what I did wrong but anyways... she told me to pack my sh** and get out her house so I contacted my friend that wants to take me in and I don't know if ill even stay here tonight... she screams and screams and calls me names and I just don't know what to do... I was in the hospital Friday because of ulcers supposedly caused from stress and all this from her is gonna put me in the hospital again... plz respond soon because I just don't know what to do... my friend talked to my casa worker a week ago when I contacted you the first time... he was filling out papers but I chickened out but now I just don't know... my friend was filling out papers for adoption and maybe itll be better if I live with him... and if she does call the cops and they pick me up im telling them that I don't feel safe living here... respond fast please... I know theres more ppl out there but I need advice quick...

[ccsmod3]

Re: me again... URGENT PLZ RESPOND

Hello again,

We’re sorry to hear you and your aunt got into another argument. We are also sorry to hear that your stress got to the point where you were experiencing ulcers. It sounds like you are in the process of exploring your options with both your case worker and your CASA worker, but haven’t reached an alternative living arrangement yet.

Letting the cops know you don’t feel safe living with your aunt is an option. Sometimes they are able to take runaways/youth in crisis to local shelters and other times they contact Child Protective Services in cases of abuse. We don’t know your city, but one place to start looking for shelters is National Safe Place: http://nationalsafeplace.org/. It sounds like you are hoping to speak to someone right away and we are able to do that if you reach out to us through chat or calling. To talk to us in real time, we encourage you to either try our Live Chat or call us at 1-800-RUNAWAY. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Ran away...

I've run away with my friends who live in a different city... They are just giving me a place to stay for now but They want me to call my aunt and work things out but I know my aunt all she will do is scream at me... The family I am with said they wouldn't mind me staying but how would I go to school? My aunt would never give them permission to unenroll me from my school... I know the stuff I need to get into a school but I don't have my birth certificate and I would also need a transcript from my school to be able to go to another school... My sister and I are really close and we always tell each other everything so I asked how aunt was doing and she said that they were driving around the nieghborhood... She said she is mad and she said she's gonna be even more mad when I return so I don't think I want to return... It's getting late but I can't sleep not knowing what to do... Can I have more advice on this situation... I can not talk on the phone at the moment because my aunt can see who I call and text so I don't want her to know who I'm talking to so I can't really call for help or text :'( but I'm gonna keep checking in on here

[ccsmod13]

RE: Ran away...

Hello,

Thank you for contacting the National Runaway Safeline and sharing with us some of your story. We are so sorry to hear that you are having some issues at home. Running away from home is a big step and we are glad that you have reached out to us for support.

It sounds like you have some support where you are now and it also sounds like you do not want to return home because of how your aunt will react. One thing that we offer here is a conference call service where you would call us and we would then reach out to your aunt and do a conference call between us three. This way we can help your voice heard and hopefully come to a compromise. This is something you can choose to do if you do decide you want to go home.

We are not here to tell you what to do or to give you advice on what to do. We are here to help support you and to help brainstorm other options that you might have. I understand that you mentioned that you cannot call or text currently, we do offer a chat service which we encourage you to chat with us on from our website every day from 4:30pm-11:30pm CST. This is a great way for us to go over your options without you having to risk your aunt finding out and calling us on our 24/7 hotline 1800.786.2929. We hoped this helped and we encourage you to contact us so that we can support you.

NRS

[Anonymous]

Me again...

I just want yall to tell her that im alright and that im safe and im not in danger even tho my aunt is rude I know she worries just plz tell her im ok... How can you tell her im ok?

[ccsmod10]

RE: Me again...

Hello there,

We do offer a message service here at NRS. As long as it is constructive, we will deliver your message. If you felt comfortable calling us, we would take your information and message and deliver it to your aunt. She would also have the option of leaving one in return for you. We can make outgoing calls to adults and legal guardians, but not to youth since all of our programs are youth initiated, so you would need to call us first. Please call us at any time so we can help you get that message to her. Stay safe and good luck!