Im almost 17 and i cant live at home anymore

[Guest]

im 16 years old and at my home im emotionally and mentally abused by my dad. he heavily drinks and yells at me and my sisters and mom all the time for the dumbest things such as his beers not being cold. I found out the other day my mom has been cheating on my dad for a few months and I cant stand being here anymore. my parents have never supported me and ive been considering for a few months just getting out of this house and staying with my boyfriend or my friend because they're parents are both totally cool with me staying with them until I figure out what to do next. so I'm asking can i legally go and "runaway" to live with a friend without being forced to come back home or go to foster care or something?

[ccsmod5]

Hey, there,
Thank you for sharing some of what’s going on. It sounds like you’re dealing with a lot of heavy things at home and it’s understandable that you “can’t stand being here anymore.” You don’t deserve to be yelled at for something like your dad’s beers not being cold. You absolutely deserve to be somewhere safe and supportive. You ask about the possibility of leaving home at this point. Since we’re not legal experts, we can’t give any specific legal advice. That being said, it’s generally true that you would need parental consent to live with your boyfriend or your friend until you are a legal adult. If you leave without that permission, your parents would have the right to file a runaway report and if the police are able to locate you they may return you home. You might consider trying to persuade your parents that it’s best for you to live elsewhere (because, truly, you have good reason to want to be elsewhere!). It can be really hard having a conversation like that, so if you need help talking with one of your parents about the possibility of leaving feel free to give us a call. We offer a mediation service where one of our liners can help you and one of your parents talk about what’s going on and figure out what to do going forward. Another possibility might be emancipation, which is a legal process where you would become your own legal guardian. Generally speaking, the process requires you to prove that you are able to support yourself—usually by having a job and a game plan. For this option, you would need to get in touch with a lawyer. To find a legal resource in your area, you can google something like “legal aid in (my city).” If you need help locating a resource, feel free to give us a call at 1-800-786-2929.
Take care,
NRS