Why can't I leave yet?

[Guest]

Hi, I'm a 17 year old girl. My mom is the worst person ever. She was always the person to hit me and yell at me, tell me that I'm dumb and ********, stomp on my dreams and take them away. She won't let up. Recently, I've been house sitting for my hospitalized grandmother. My mom lights have been cut off so, she and my brothers are here. Backstory: I just started getting closer to God. Maybe that's stupid to some people but, it's been helping me with my depression. Plus, it's nice to believe in something bigger than me. I had everything set. I would write in a spiral a scripture, inspiration, and prayer once a day. I've been doing that. My mom needed something to write on so, I tell me brother to go get paper and she gets mad because my God book was right there. I didn't want to rip anything out of that book because that's my source of strength right now. My mom gave up on religion after I was born. Or she never believed it. She started yelling and I ripped out a page and threw it at her out of anger. It didn't go far because it was paper. So I grabbed it and handed it to her this time. Then my baby brother started yelling for someone to wipe him so I get up to do it. After that she cornered me in the bathroom, and she was furious. She started yelling at me poking me. She slapped my glasses off my face and was accusing me of getting an attitude because Lord knows you should never have any emotion around my mom. She continued with how I should boss up and fight her because I didn't speak while she was on her rampage. Then she asked "How you gon get mad about a piece of paper?" I told her it was my God book. Then she belittled it to a spiral. This kind if stuff happens all the time. She would excuse me of lying and whatnot. I have to cook and clean everyday. I don't like being here. Why can't I leave yet? I worked so hard in school to ensure my acceptance to college. I want to leave now. I'm tired of feeling like I don't belong anywhere.

[ccsmod7]

Thank you so much for reaching out to us. It takes courage to do so. We are so very, very sorry to hear of the challenges you are facing. You certainly don't deserve to be treated in this fashion and we can understand why you would be so upset. Because your mom has hit you and slapped off your glasses and is generally unsupportive, you could be in touch with your local child protective services agency to report this kind of activity. It also might be considered neglect for her not to provide you with your basic needs such as not having your lights. You might call the experts Child Help at 800-422-4453 or childhelp.org to learn more about what reporting could look like for you.

Legally, because you are 17 your mother still has responsibility for you and could therefore call the authorities and file a runaway report. If she were to do that then the police would have the responsibility of trying to find you and bring you back home. Like the child protective services agency the police should have your safety in mind, so if you do feel unsafe at home, you could explain that to the police, but again, your mom has the right to file that report. It is certainly not "stupid" to have faith and we applaud you for making an effort to find something that gives you comfort and confidence. That is a wonderful thing and no one can take that away from you. It does sound like your mom has some challenges when it comes to religion and we are sorry that she is not supportive of something that means so much to you. We are also sorry that we cannot give you a better answer about leaving home, but we do hope that your faith will help to keep you strong.

Again, we are so appreciative of you reaching out to us and if you ever feel you can call on us, please do so, We are here 24/7 and would welcome the opportunity to be of help.