can I live with my grandma and grandpa

[Guest]

So my parents are sweet and nice once a week otherwise my dad is an asshole and he is telling me he’s going to make my next three years a living hell. I want to go live with my grandma and grandpa but I don’t know if I can. Help please!

[ccsmod3]

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out to National Runaway Safeline and being brave in sharing a little bit about what is going on at home. Its sounds like a confusing environment to live in what the expectation are and how your parents treat you.
If you are interested with living with your grandparents, we aren’t legal experts, but the easiest way to make this happen is to get permission from your parents to live with your grandparents. Another thing you can do is talk to your parents about how they are impacting you. This can be a difficult thing to do, but maybe having your grandparents there as support can make it easier to do. We can also support you with talking to your parents through something called a conference where we would mediate a conversation and help facilitate a conversation to see how you and your parents could move forward in a agreeable way.

It may be good to know some general runaway laws. We aren’t legal experts, but we have general knowledge about running away. In most states, running away isn’t illegal, but what is called a status offense. You can’t get arrested for it but it will mostly likely go on your record until you are 18. The police will only know if you have runaway if your parents/guardians file a police report. We can’t say for sure how the police will respond, but we hear a lot that police will take potential places you might be and will actively search for you. If they come across you, the most likely will return you home to your parents. Sometimes we hear that if you are staying with someone who knows you are a runaway and are not actively trying to return you or finding shelter for you, your guardians can press charges against the people who are housing you, with something that is called harboring. One of our main goals is to make sure you are safe, so you ever seriously decide to run away and need shelter, resources, or a safe place to go you can find safe locations at nationalsafeplace.org or reach out to us directly and we can find local resources in your area.

We are here for you and will support you in anyway that we can. Please feel free to call into us directly as we can talk further about your situation and find resources that are best for you in your area. Stay strong and you are not alone in this! Our number is 1-800-RUNAWAY we are open 24/7.
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