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

[ccsmod3]

Hi there, thank you for reaching out. It does not sound like your parents are treating you fairly and you deserve to be treated fairly. It also sounds like you have thought about running away before when you were in second grade and are considering it again. Running away can be very dangerous and we care about your safety and want to help as best as we can. If you would like to talk more about what’s going on or possible options to help, please call our hotline 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929) or chat us online at 1800runaway.org. We hope to hear from you soon.
Be safe,
NRS

Hi I’m 12 and I don’t know if I should run away.my parents make me feel awful about myself and they favor my younger sister who is evil.my parents act like they deserve respect and my love but they don’t I don’t know if I’m over reacting but I wanted to run away in second grade and almost did but I didn’t and I lost it today should I run away for confess to my parents?
-cora

[ccsmod10]

First off, we are very thankful that you contacted us because it sounds like you've been in an extremely difficult situation for a long time. It seems like your parents have really restricted your access to the outside world and limited your ability to communicate with your friends. Religion and spirituality are able to be very positive things for some people, but it sounds like in this case your family has forced you to participate in a religious practice you don't want to be a part of. This can feel stifling, and can lead someone to feel like their desires/needs don't matter (when they do!).

From how you described your interactions with your mom and dad, it seems like they have been very judgmental of you in the past, and you're afraid it would be even worse if you were honest about your sexuality, or about leaving the religion. That is a completely valid fear. It is up to you whether or not you choose to share your authentic self with them. Regardless of what you choose, you deserve to have a place/community where you feel you can truly be yourself without judgment.

Running away is an option, but it can be very challenging. If you were to do so, it can be beneficial to plan out how you will fund your travels, where you will stay and how you will pay for your living expenses. Your parents would also be able to file a runaway or missing child report, which might cause police to investigate where you were and try to return home. Considering how you would handle this could also be beneficial before you left.

Whatever you decide to do, we are here to help every step of the way. We can talk more about making life at home tolerable, creating a plan if you need to leave, or anything else. You can text chat us at 1800runaway.org if you'd like to talk one-on-one with someone from our team.

Take care,
NRS

I'm 12 I'm in a religious cult that I want to leave. (Jehovah's Witnesses AKA, A CULT!!)

It all started when I was born. I loved the religion and everything, had great friends, made some at school too. That is until I started getting older. I started being sneakier. I have strict parents of course but they were strict religion wise. I'm always pressured to do things in the religion. Pressured to put "god" and other things first rather than college and education. They also put me in an online school, so I lost all my friends. (K12) I'm failing my new school. I was doing great in my old one. Straight A's and everything. I want to run away so bad because of school and this religion and my parents. My mom yells at me whenever I try to talk to her and puts me down saying im too skinny and I look anorexic. My dad judges everything I do and he's one of the minsters from the cult so I can't talk to him about anything. They hate my friends too. I'm not allowed to hang out with school friends unless they are involved in the cult. I hate this. I hate my life. I hate everything. I hate how I'm living. Another thing, if I were to tell my parents I wanted to leave the religion, they would shun me for the rest of my life. My friends and family and everyone I know would hate me. And another thing, I found out I'm Omnisexual (basically bi sexual) and I know if I told them, they would hate me. Everything I do reflects on them and I'm pressured to be the perfect daughter. My plan was to run away with my friend Emma. But I haven't heard much of her lately. I found a bus terminal around the block from my house and when my parents leave to go somewhere, that's when I'll leave. My plan is to go to New York and stay there till I'm an adult then I'll get plane tickets to leave the country since I'm bilingual. But in the meantime, what should I do? I want to run away and it was definitely my last choice but please help.

[ccsmod10]

Hi, we're glad you reached out to us for help. It sounds like things at home haven't felt good for a long time, and you are looking for a way to change things.

We are here to help as best we can, whether it means providing someone to listen and make you a priority, or talking through steps to make changes.

If you can, live chat us at 1800runaway.org or call us at 1-800-RUNAWAY and we can talk through specifics of your situation.

You deserve to feel happy and secure. You don't have to figure this out on your own.

I'm a 10 year old girl and I've kinda hated my family since... well I was maybe 7

[ccsmod16]

Hi,
Thanks for reaching out. We will respond with the same thing for both of your posts.
It sounds like things are really stressful for you at home with your mom being an emotional wreck and your brother saying awful things to you while pretending to be a baby around your mother. It sounds like you do have a group of friends at school, and we are glad to hear about that.
You mentioned wanting to leave, which is understandable and we can talk about this, but we would want to have a conversation with you about this. Please reach out to our live services. You can call us at 1-800-786-2929 or you can chat us through this website. Both services are available 24/7 and we truly hope to hear from you soon so that we can help you determine what your options might be.
Sincerely,
NRS

[ccsmod16]

Hi,
Thanks for reaching out. We will respond with the same thing for both of your posts.
It sounds like things are really stressful for you at home with your mom being an emotional wreck and your brother saying awful things to you while pretending to be a baby around your mother. It sounds like you do have a group of friends at school, and we are glad to hear about that.
You mentioned wanting to leave, which is understandable and we can talk about this, but we would want to have a conversation with you about this. Please reach out to our live services. You can call us at 1-800-786-2929 or you can chat us through this website. Both services are available 24/7 and we truly hope to hear from you soon so that we can help you determine what your options might be.
Sincerely,
NRS

Ok so a while back, when I was 5 my mum and dad got divorced, so now I see my dad on Saturdays, and I live mostly with my mum and brother.
A couple of times a month its ok. I love them we have a good time together...but the tide turns. My mum doesn't want me to grow up. The only social media I own is WhatsApp.
when I got two behavior points at school for missed homework, my mom made me do it and beg the teacher who I hate to remove them. I still have a perfect record. She follows my every move on this app, and she sees what I'm on, how much time I've spent on it, and she went through this period of time where she'd scream at me if she ever caught me on my phone. At school, since I have this perfect record, and participate in things because I know my mum would be disappointed if I don't, I have been stamped as the nerd. There's a group of girls who hate me and are rude to me. The only place I currently enjoy being in is in the playground/canteen with my friends. My brother is 10 and fights me constantly, and comes into my room so I have to shout at him and then I get in trouble. He puts on a baby voice and runs to mum and she'll tell me off for 'something I did'
it's like we're perfect for the cameras, but behind the curtain, we're just broken. I want to leave here.

My dad left when I was about 5 and my brother was 3. Since then my mom has been an emotional wreck, and I can't really say how I feel without worrying i'll upset her. My brother is on her side and clingy and I can't be alone for any long amount of time at home. He also says mean stuff to me and we fight all the time. He then puts on his baby voice and goes crying to mum and I get in trouble for upsetting him. At school, people think I'm the 'nerdy' kid and the only place I currently feel at home is with my friendship group. I want to run away, but i feel like it would push mum over the edge.

[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 things with your Mom have escalated to a point that makes you uncomfortable. You are within your rights to report any abuse happening inside the home, www.childhelp.org is one resource when looking to report abuse, and we can also assist you in filling out an abuse report if you call or chat us. But whether or not you choose to report is up to you, and there are pros and cons in doing so. Maybe when you call or chat with us we can talk more about what those are.



We are here as support through this challenging time and we can best help by having a conversation with you either by phone on our hotline or chatting us through our website. We truly hope to hear from you soon so that we can listen and help.


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.


Be safe,
NRS

I ********ING HATE MY LIFE, I am 13 yr old and mom hates me. She never cared about my achievements. She even threatened me, saying she would cut my penis with this knife.

[ccsmod6]

Hi there,
Thanks so much for reaching out. It sounds like you’ve been through a great deal and we want you to know that you are not alone in this. Generally speaking, the legal age that a youth can leave home without their parent’s permission is 18. That means that, should you run away again, you would be returned home by the police if you were caught. Another thing to consider is that while running away is not a crime, any adult you stay with could be charged with the crime of harboring a runaway.
If you need a safe place to go immediately, you might try visiting The National Safe Place website (www.nationalsafeplace.org). You can look up your city and state to see if there are any safe places near you listed. You can also text the word “safe” along with your current location (address, city, state) to 4HELP (44357). You will receive a message with the closest Safe Place site and phone number for the local youth agency. You can then reply to that text with “2chat” if you’d like to text interactively with a trained counselor.
It might be helpful for us to know a little bit more about your situation so we can better assist you. You can call us at 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929) or chat with us via www.1800runaway.org. Our services are confidential and available 24/7. Please consider reaching out.
All the best,
NRS

I’m 13 and wanna live somewhere else

I tried running away but got court in the act and I have no where else to go. I need a new place I gotta go.

[ccsmod6]

Hi there,
Thanks so much for sharing a bit about your situation with us. It sounds like things have been very difficult with your grandmother recently. We’re sorry to hear that she’s treated you differently since you came out. It seems like you’ve really been trying to make her proud but that she hasn’t been receptive to any of your efforts. That sounds like it could be very hurtful.
You mentioned that your father doesn’t visit as regularly as you’d like him to. One option you might consider is reaching out to him and talking to him about what’s going on. It’s possible that communicating that you’d like him to play a bigger role in your life might be helpful. You might also talk to him about some of the issues you’re having with your grandmother. You know your situation best, of course, and it’s up to you to decide whether you want to reach out to your father about this. You might also think about other people in your life that you could reach out to for support.
You said that your mother has been involved in illegal activities like drug use. If you feel as though talking to somebody about what's going on with your mother might be helpful, Alateen is a group that organizes support meetings for teens who are affected by someone else’s alcohol or drug use. You can learn more about Alateen at www.alateen.org or by calling toll-free at 1-888-425-2666.
You mentioned that your grandmother has pulled a knife out on you before, which raises some concerns for your safety. If you feel as though you’re in immediate danger, please do consider reaching out to emergency services or 911. Though we don’t know all the details of your situation, it’s possible that you might be able to report your grandmother for abuse. Though emotional abuse can be difficult to prove to Child Protective Services, if they decide to open an investigation, you may be removed from your grandmother’s care or be eligible for certain services. Reaching out to Child Help USA at 1-800-422-4453 or www.childhelp.org may help you to get a better understanding of what may happen before and after a report is made if that’s an option you want to pursue.
If you feel as though talking to somebody about your experiences with your sexuality might be helpful, the Trevor Project might be a good place to start. You can reach them by calling 1-866-488-7386, texting “START” to 678678, or chatting via https://www.thetrevorproject.org. You deserve to be love and accepted for exactly who you are.
If you’d like to talk more about different options you might have, please feel free to reach out to us as well. We are available by phone or by live chat at any hour. Give us a call at 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929) or chat with us at www.1800runaway.org (click on the chat button). We hope to hear from you soon.

Stay safe,

NRS