16 and need away from home

[Guest]

in 16 and live in maryland my dads mentally abusive and has physically abusised my mom in the past i’m scared to be living with him and he neglects me he also dropped me off at my moms the first day of summer and just now came back to get me two days ago my friends mom said i could live with them i just don’t know how to get out of his custody what options do i have

[ccsmod6]

Hi,

Thanks so much for taking the time to reach out to us tonight. We are sorry to hear about what you're going through. It sounds like your dad has mentally abused you and has also physically abused your mother, which is never okay. Neither of you deserve to go through something like that. It is understandable how you may feel unsafe in that kind of situation and are scared to live with him.

If you are being neglected or abused at home please know you have the right to report it if you feel comfortable doing so. You or a trusted adult can call out to the National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 and talk to someone about your experiences. You can also call into our hotline and we would be happy to call out to them with you.

When it comes to custody that can be tricky. If your friend's mom wanted she could attempt to get custody of you. She would likely have to speak to a lawyer about that and go through the court system in order to do that. You can also talk to your mom about custody issues and see how custody between her and your dad is split. If it is something you both feel comfortable with, you can work on her getting full custody of you so your dad does not have any custody of you. Again, she would likely have to get into touch with a lawyer in order to make that happen.

If you have anymore questions or just want to talk more about what you're going through please don't hesitate to reach out to us again. Our number is 1-800-RUNAWAY and we are 24/7 so someone will always be there to answer and help you out as best as we possibly can. We wish you the best of luck with everything!