My parents treat me like a piece of ********

[Guest]

hello i really need help my parents mentally abuise me first off they call me a failure and say i will be nothing in life i want to go live with my grandparents and my granmaw agrees but they wont let me so this summer me and my granmaw made a plan well i go up there every summer for the whole summer but i live in texas she lives in missouri is there anything my parents could do to make me have to come back down if i just stayed up there for ever im 16 and in missouri 17 is a adult so is there anything she could do in a year

[ccsmod3]

Hi there,

Thank you for reaching out to us at the National Runaway Safeline. It sounds like you are in a difficult situation, and we understand it takes courage to reach out for help. We are here for you and will support you in anyway that we can. Here at NRS we aren’t legal experts, therefore, answering your question directly is difficult for us to do.

We are sorry you are experiencing mental abuse, no one ever deserves to go through that. You do have the right to report the abuse to Child Help at 1-800-422-4453. You can either do it yourself or call into us directly and we can support you through it. It is hard to say the result of reporting, but if you call in you can ask what the process might look like. This may be helpful in potentially supporting getting a transfer in guardianship.

We aren’t legal experts, and your situation is complicated due to the fact that your parents would know where you are and it may cause some conflict. It may still be considered running away since your parents have legal guardianship over you. If your parents gave you permission to live there, then there wouldn’t be any legal consequences, but otherwise you may be considered a runaway. 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/or police 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 if 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.

-NRS

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