I'm 13, I hate my family and I want to leave.

[ccsmod2]

Hello There,
Thank you for reaching out to The National Runaway Safeline, it takes great courage to reach out and we are so glad you decided to reach out to us.
We are sorry you are going through a difficult time, but know you are not alone. For us to best help you we would need some more information on your situation. We would love to help you explore more options and provide support to you.
Please chat with us or give us a call, we are here for you 24/7.
Stay strong,
NRS

M y hates me she calls me bad name s she throws my stuff away. And she won't let me eat in my room it's my room

[ccsmod15]

Hi there,
Thank you for writing to us here at National Runaway Safeline (NRS). We understand it takes great courage to reach out, and we appreciate you sharing a little bit about what’s going on. We want you to know that we are here as support to help you through this challenging time. We can best help by phone or chat as NRS is unable to respond more than twice by email or bulletin for assistance. If you would like to talk more in detail and share more about how we can help specifically, please call or chat soon.
Our contact information is 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929); www.1800runaway.org (click on the chat button).
If you are at risk of any danger or feeling unsafe, we encourage you to reach out to 911 or seek emergency assistance immediately.
We hope to hear from you soon.
Be safe,
NRS

I've been feeling like running away from home for 3 years. I'm a 13 year old, and my family has been putting so much pressure on me that a lot of my hair is falling out whenever I shower or brush my hair. My mom keeps focusing on negative events that happened in the past, and uses that to complain. I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!

[ccsmod4]

Hello,
Thank you for writing to us here at the National Runaway Safeline.

We understand it takes great courage to reach out, and we appreciate you sharing a little bit about what’s going on. We would like to be of assistance to you if we can. It is times like these that would be nice to have a listening ear. It is also important that you remember to exercise self- care. You showed some by reaching out to NRS. Good for you. What you have been experiencing sounds very sad and very, very unfair. You do not deserve to be mistreated or abused this by your mother. It’s not your fault that she behaves this way. We understand your fear and frustration. You have the right to be safe. There are laws to protect you from abuse Contacting child protective services and filing a report may provide the option of being removed from the home and placed in protective custody. To file an abuse report contact Child Help at 1-800-422-4453

Your feelings are important and they matter and the feelings you have for you cat are real as well as sincere.
You are deserving as anyone that wants to be happy.
We want you to know that we are here as support to help you through this challenging time. We can best help by phone or chat so that we might learn a little more about your situation and how we might assist you. If you would like to talk more in detail and share more about how we can help specifically, please call or chat soon.

Our contact information is 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929); www.1800runaway.org (click on the chat button).

If you are feeling at risk, depressed or suicidal contact 1-800-273-8255



Be safe and take care,
NRS

[ccsmod2]

Hello There,
Thank you for reaching out to The National Runaway Safeline, we are here to help and here to listen.
We are sorry to hear that you are having issues with your mother. In order to best help you we would need to know more information.
We would love to talk with you further about your situation, we are available 24/7. You can reach us on our chat platform or you can call us at 1800-786-2929. We wish you the best of luck!
NRS

My whole life I’ve been a pretty difficult child, I’m only thirteen and I get in fights I sometimes steal food (not from stores but like food my mother has bought), my mother always tells me all I do is make her life a living hell and I’m just a stupid pathetic mistake. When I was about eight my mom did buy me this little kitten, and I love him to the moon and back, in fact without him I would even be alive today. Recently my mom has been saying she’s going to take him away and I know if she does I would be heart broken. I’m confused on what to do I’ve been trying to find certain places where they can shelter animals and humans but I have no money to feed him I’m more worried about him than me. I can’t handle a relationship with my own mother where almost every day I’m being put down and hurt. To put it clearly I am in an abusive relationship. My cat is the only thing that can make me smile and feel happy I honestly don’t know what I’d do without him. But I know I can’t stay with someone who threatens to kill me! most of the time I feel like just killing myself and ending all my pain I know that what I’m writing seems like just a stupid little kid complaining about how I didn’t get what I wanted but I just need help I’m confused on what to do and I have no idea how to handle stuff like this. My situation means nothing compared to the others on this website but I’m not stupid I know how the world works and I know this is not how you’re supposed to treat your kid. So my finale question is: what do I do? Should I try to run away with my cat and find a place that can take care of both of us? I’m pretty tall so I’ve been thinking I could pass of as fourteen and get a job such as a worker at a fast food place so I could at least try and support myself and my cat. I know that staying with my mom is not an option. So what do I do? There’s lots I didn’t write like the fact my mom has beat me until I couldn’t sit or even walk without hurting myself. I can’t call the police because I know that since I’m just a little kid they’ll side with my mom. I feel like I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place thanks for reading sorry for all of my grammar errors.

I hate my mom all she does is start ******** with me and I have had enough

[ccsmod15]

Hi there,
Thank you for writing to us here at National Runaway Safeline (NRS). We understand it takes great courage to reach out, and we appreciate you sharing a little bit about what’s going on. It sounds like you’re quite overwhelmed by things at home right now. It sounds like you’re fearing that the situation may end in suicide if things don’t change. Your safety and well-being is important. If you are at risk of any danger or feeling unsafe, we encourage you to reach out to 911 or seek emergency assistance immediately. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (8255); www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org is also a great resource to reach out to in addition to our crisis services.
You don’t deserve to be treated that way by your step-dad and feel like you aren’t listened to and that he just screams at you instead of having a civil conversation. This kind of treatment may be reportable against your step-dad. Please keep in mind you by no means deserve any type of abuse, emotional or otherwise. Unfortunately, emotional abuse is often harder to provide evidence for compared to physical abuse which is often what CPS relies on when conducting an abuse investigation. That said, we can’t be 100% sure what the outcome will be if your local CPS decides to open a case based on what you share. Sometimes CPS decides to remove minors from the home and other times they offer services such as family counseling or mediation instead. The only way to know the outcome might be to reach out to them directly and if you’re ready to do that we are here to help you through that process. Reaching out to Child Help USA at 1-800-422-4453 or www.childhelp.org may help to get a better understanding of what may happen before and after a report is made.
Often, having a safe space to share how you’re feeling may bring a variety of solutions previously not thought of. Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. This may be an isolating and lonely time for you, but you are not alone in this. We want you to know that we are here as support to help you through this challenging time.
If you would like to talk more in detail please call or chat soon. Our contact information is 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929); www.1800runaway.org (click on the chat button).
We hope to hear from you soon.
Be safe and stay strong,
NRS

[ccsmod15]

Hi there,
Thank you for writing to us here at National Runaway Safeline (NRS). We understand it takes great courage to reach out, and we appreciate you sharing a little bit about what’s going on. It sounds like you’re quite overwhelmed by things at home right now and you mentioned being harmed. We’re sorry you’re going through this. You don't deserve to be hurt in any way. If you are at risk of any danger or feeling unsafe, we encourage you to reach out to 911 or seek emergency assistance immediately.
You may also be able to report any mistreatment to CPS. Child Help USA 1-800-422-4453 www.childhelp.org is an organization that helps protect minors from being harmed. They can tell you more about how CPS could respond to your situation. CPS can potentially get you safely out of that situation and into a place with more protection for you. If you ever need assistance calling out to CPS to make an abuse or neglect report please call is at 1-800-RUNAWAY.
You don’t deserve to be in a place that you feel unsafe. Often, having a safe space to share how you’re feeling may bring a variety of solutions previously not thought of. You are not alone in this. We want you to know that we are here as support to help you through this challenging time.
If you would like to talk more in detail please chat soon through our website www.1800runaway.org (click on the chat button) if you are unable to call in. We unfortunately cannot give advice as we are non-directive. You know your situation best
We hope to hear from you soon.
Be safe,
NRS

I'm 12 and my dad died when I was a baby and then my mom gets with my stepdad and I hate him because he's trying to replace my actual dad and he doesn't listen to my side of things and just blows up and screams at me. I want to leave and he makes me so unhappy to the point of me wanting to kill myself because my situation is so unpleasant. I don't know what to do now.

Hi I’m 11 years about to be 12 my family is horrible I was think about leaving the house and be free but I can’t I’m only a child if I do the police is going to bring me back home and it will become worse I call my friend for her to tell her mom but I don’t know if the judges will accept for me to live with her I’m scared of everybody in this house they beat me scream at me my step mother just sits there and doesn’t even stand up for me while my uncle is there hitting me giving me warnings I’m scared to even call someone or pick up the phone I hope on Saturday my friend mom can pick me up because it is horrible here I dislike it I’m always depressed everybody knows in sad but still sits there like I’m happy I’m not they expect me to be perfect but I’m not I want to be me I always think to pack and leave but I just can’t do I I always think I’m going to get in trouble if one of the people come back home from jail and beat me up again if I call the police I just have to wait till Saturday and I want to be happy again I hope I will be happy again

[ccsmod1]

Hey there,

Thanks so much for reaching out and sharing a little bit about what’s been going on, we know that it takes a lot of courage. It must be really hard to live in a home with so much tension - you shouldn't be subjected to such harsh treatment. Running away is a big decision and it can be very stressful to figure out what you want to do.

You mentioned quite a few things about whoopings and pinches and it raises a great deal of concern about your safety. Absolutely no one deserves to be abused. If you are currently at risk of any danger or feeling unsafe, we encourage you to reach out to 911 or seek emergency assistance immediately. You have the right to report this abuse to child protective services. If you feel like this is an option you want to explore, you may find this website helpful: https://www.childhelp.org/child-abuse/. We can also help you to file a report if that’s the route you are considering. It may also be a good idea to explore options for staying with another family member or someone you trust as far as transferring custody. You may also want to take pictures of any injuries or bruising that may have occurred from the abuse as that could be very helpful when making an abuse report.

If you’d like to go over what’s going on in depth, or if you’d like to explore other options that you may have available to you, please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-800-RUNAWAY. You can also chat us by clicking on the “CHAT” button on top of our homepage. We’re open 24/7 and here to listen and support you in any way we can.

Stay safe,
NRS

We'd love to hear from you about your experience using our crisis forum. Your feedback plays an important role in helping us improve our services to support youth and families. Please click the link below to fill out our survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/we_care_what_you_think

im 10 Years Old

I've hated my family ever since i was born, and over the years it keeps getting worser and worser my mom is a Lying b** Anything i do Even if it isnt bad she would always tell my father and My father would always Beat me up my sister Is the worst Shes just like my mother shes a fat b** who stinks who always tries to get my in trouble and always succeeds, the only person i love in my family is My baby brother im just Worried he dosent turn out to be like one of them i'm always thinking about running away from my family but i feel like i wont have anywhere to go. so im just staying till i get a little older but i still wanna go My mom Shaved my head and made me bald anytime i go to online class i always get made fun off and when i turned off my camera with my teachers consent she litterally got so mad that she called my dad and told my dad what happend he cursed at me and slapped me and punches me and always beats me with a belt its like anything i do i always get punished for it my mom is a liar and my sister is a liar and my dad is a literal maniac hes crazy Im thinking about running away with my bike and going to my best friends house i did that before but their little sister called my sister and told her i was at their house and yep u already guessed it i got a a** whooping. i dont know what to do especially at a young age is it the best option to run away? or no?

[ccsmod15]

Hi there,

You mentioned wanting to know how you can leave home before turning 18. The easiest way to leave home is with your parent's permission. We understand that might be challenging, however, maybe there’s another family member, relative, or a family friend who could help to communicate how you’re feeling to your parents. The second way is through Child Protective Services if safety is a concern. Lastly, you can also look into emancipation options. In most states you need to be at least 16 to be considered and demonstrate that you can support yourself financially and independently. Emancipation often can be a lengthy process and may even cost some money for court fees. We would be happy to look into legal resources if that’s something you are considering.

Please reach out soon so that we may offer support and resources to you. Our number is 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929) or you can chat with us via the chat feature at www.1800runaway.org.

Be safe,

NRS