Fugitive?

[Guest]

my home life is horrible, and i have no outlet to tell anyone about it. I want to run, as far as possible. it's just been so bad lately. I know that it's viable for me to go to a friend's house if i feel unsafe, and i do. but if my parents file a report, would my friend be considered to be "harboring a fugitive?" especially since she's 18 and i'm 17.

[ccsmod7]

Hi there, thank you for sending us this post. Your home life must be pretty hard if you want to run away. There may be a few things you want to know before making that kind of decision.

First, it is not illegal to run away. Running away is a status offense, meaning your parents can file a report and the police can bring you back home to them. You are also right that your friend could be charged with harboring a runaway, if your parents or the police wanted to press charges. However, since you are 17, close to becoming a legal adult, the police may treat your situation differently, especially if your home life is not safe. The best way to find out how they will treat your situation is to call the non-emergency number of your local police and just ask them. Sometimes it is helpful to have an ally on the phone with you for this conversation. We are happy to call them with you if you wanted to give us a call first at 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929).

We are also happy to talk with you about what is going on at home and how you are feeling. It can be hard when there is no one to talk to, but we are here 24/7 if you ever want to give us a call. If not, maybe talking with a teacher or school counselor would help.

We wish you the best of luck during this hard time, and hope to hear from you soon.