I am 15 and i want to go live with my friends family

[ccsmod15]

Hi there,

Thank you so much for reaching out to us here at the National Runaway Safeline. We are so sorry to hear you are feeling isolated and unsafe at home. You deserve to be in a place that is filled with validation and love.

If you are under 18 years old, the easiest way to leave home is with your mom's or legal guardian's permission. They can grant you full permission to stay with a family member, friend, or a transitional living program for young people (this is something we could help you find). If this is an option you want to continue to explore, it could be a good idea to consider what time of day, location, and mode of communication would be most effective to have a reasonable conversation with your mom. If you are unsafe, another option could be abuse reporting. This can be an overwhelming, but we would be happy to help you talk through it and support you through every step of the process.

It seems as though you have been through a lot and we know it takes a lot of courage and strength to reach out for help or advice. If you would like to talk through any of these options we are here 24/7 offering confidential support. We can help you make a plan, and if none of these options seem viable, we may be able to help you talk through some alternate courses of action. You can give us a call at 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929) or live chat with us through our website (www.1800runaway.org). You deserve to feel safe and protected, and we are here to help in whatever way we can.

Stay safe,
NRS

hello,
today my family decided to go on a family trip but my mom and my dad were arguing and then my stepdad let out his anger on me so i tried to talk in a relaxing voice that he should calm down and he tried to hit me several times but my mom protected me. my sister doesnt even care. he stayed home and my mom and my sister are in the car with me. my mom said that she wants me to live somewhere else in a foster care or somewhere and she said if i want to call the police because of abuse i should go ahead and do so because they dont care about me and she said that she doesnt want me anymore. i am planning on contacting my friend but i feel like her parents will reject me. they both left me in the car and went shopping. is there anything i can do? i want to leave as well but i heard u need parental consent and now i’m not sure if my mom is willing

[ccsmod5]

Hi there,
Thank you for writing to us here at National Runaway Safeline (NRS). We can best help by phone or chat as NRS is unable to respond more than twice by email or bulletin for assistance. If you would like to talk more in detail and share more about how we can help specifically, please call or chat soon.
In regards to reporting the abuse, we are not experts on the issue but generally once it's been reported, social services will decide whether or not to take the case and further investigate. If they do take the case, they will send out someone from child protective services to do an investigation (interviewing people in the household) and from there they will decide the level of danger within the household. It generally ranges from no danger (the youth stays in the home, some services are given, and the case is closed), moderate danger (they will provide family services with possible temporary displacement) and high danger (they will remove the youth from the home and offer certain services). Normally they will try and talk to you first about where you would like to be placed, then verify if it’s a safe home. Then they will ask family, foster homes are usually the last resort or an emergency resort.

If you feel like this is an option you want to explore, you may find this website helpful: https://www.childhelp.org/child-abuse/. We can also help you to file a report if that’s the route you are considering.

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.
We hope to hear from you soon.
Be safe,
NRS

thank you i’ll reach out in a couple months to report it also do you know what would happen to me after the report would i be able to have them give up legal custody/ file a restraining order. Would i have to get a new legal guardian of some sort?

[ccsmod15]

Hello there!
Thanks for reaching out to NRS! Here at NRS we are mandated reporters meaning that we report any type of abuse with identifying information such as name and address. If you choose not to give us that identifying info we do not have to report, but at any time if you wanted to give that info, we could. To talk further in deatil please reach out to use either via phone or through our live chat. Our phone number is 800-RUNAWAY and our live chat can be found at www.1800RUNAWAY.org. We are available 24/7.
Hope to hear from you soon.
NRS

is there an online way to report something also what category would i put that as

[ccsmod5]

Hi there,


Thanks for reaching out to us at the National Runaway Safeline. You made a great first step to finding the help that you may need. It sounds like you are going through a lot and the people around you are not being supportive. You deserve to be treated with respect, to experience acceptance and to feel safe.

We want you to know that you are strong for having gone through so much already. It is perfectly okay to deviate from what others or the common population believe to be “normal”. Your bravery and resilience is so admirable. You are so strong for having gone through so much without having the acceptance that you do deserve for just being you. Remember that you are not alone. If you ever want to talk more about what you are experiencing or get additional support we are here 24/7 at 1800-RUNAWAY or our live chat service. The GLBT National Hotline at 1888-843-4564 is another option to gain great support from those that are familiar with the issues and experiences of those that are also a part of the LGBTQ community. You can access their website link bellow to utilize all the other possibly useful resources they have to offer: http://www.glbthotline.org/

You mentioned that you were considering the options that may be best for you. By all means, if you do fear for your safety either now or in the future, do not hesitate to take the necessary steps to regain your safety. This may mean calling the authorities or possibly reporting the things you may be experiencing. Other options to think about may be other family members, friends, or a trusted adults that would be able to provide you with support or a safe place to stay. It is great that you thinking ahead. Should you feel like leaving home is best, it may be a good idea to think about how you will provide necessities for yourself such as food, clothing, showers, healthcare and other basic needs. You may want to also consider how your parent’s will react to you leaving without permission. We are not legal experts here, but typically as a minor (under the age of 1 you need permission from your parents to leave home. It is not illegal to runaway, but it would mean that your parents could file a runaway report with the police. This is usually done in an effort to try to return you home as the police are required to do so.

If you can give us a call at 1-800-RUNAWAY or reach out through Live Chat we can try to find some youth shelters that may be near your city and state by utilizing our database of resources. We can also try to call out to shelters with you or on your behalf to advocate for you, as well as find some legal expert resources for your questions regarding school.

Stay Strong,
NRS

hi i am 15 and my parents are homophobic,transphobic and say disgusting things towards a specific religion. They don’t know that i am queer,i have been body shamed,judged and etc if i told them i would get beaten. I was planing to move in to my friends house but i am not sure how to illegally move without going to court. I would also like to still go to school i would probably switch schools due to location.(US)

[ccsmod16]

Hi,
Thank you for reaching out; we are glad that you did.
It sounds like things are rough at home right now because of the things you did that mom found out about. It is for sure hard to be unable to talk to friends and it's stressful to not know what the near future is going to be like for you.
To answer your question, until you reach the age of majority in your state (usually 18, but some states older) you wouldn't be able to sign a lease to rent a basement or room. So moving out by yourself would be very difficult.
What we can talk about is everything you are going through at home so that maybe we can help you find a way to feel better there and maybe find a way to help your relationship with your mom after this.
You can reach out via live chat through this website. We are here for you 24/7 and are anonymous and confidential.
We truly hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
NRS

I'm 15 turning 16 in 10 days.

Well I did some things ( vaping,sex, and taking photo showing my body) and my mom found out and now I'm not allowed to leave my house, I don't even know if I'm coming back to school I think she's gonna make me do online school. So my question is can I move out by myself? I don't have a bf so I don't really have anywhere to go. And I can't talk to my friends bc I don't have my phone so I can't really do anything. Can I get a job and rent a basement with 16?

[ccsmod15]

Thank you so much for reaching out to National Runaway Safeline (NRS). It takes courage to share your story. We can see you've been through some really horrible stuff as a young person. Clearly your grandmother is treating you very poorly. And you do deserve to be treated well and with respect.

As for alternative living arrangements, it may be best for you to reach out to NRS directly (you can call or chat) so we can see about legal resources in your area to help with your questions above. We're here 24/7 at 1-800-RUNAWAY or via chat by using the chat button at the top of our website: www.1800runaway.org.

As for cutting, here is a good resource that you can contact for support: To Write Love On Her Arms at https://twloha.com.

Again, you deserve to be treated well. We look forward to hearing from you. Good luck and please know that the NRS is open 24/7 and you can reach us anytime.

hi I'm 14 and I'm going to turn 15 on august 22 and I'm an only child so yeah well I hate living with my grandparents and my grandmother drinks and yells at me every Monday and Friday after I get home from school just because I'm tired and I won't pet my dog every time I get in the door at home for one I have to walk up a very steep hill that makes me tired and for two I always pet my dog every time after I sit down for a few minutes to catch my breathe but no she won't let me catch my breathe and well in October or November I went to my school counselor and talked to her about me cutting myself and that I wanted help but the only help I got was being yelled and cussed at and well my childhood was never good my dad was on drugs and I would get abused by my dad mental and physically so I never got a good life when I was younger and well I got taken by cps and well they placed me in my grandparents house when I was 9 and well my grandmother sometime would slip me a few drinks when I was 10 or 11 which I thought was cool at first until I got 12 or 13 and well she started yelling at me and she started calling me a hoe and well I started acting bad like I talked to a guy from messenger which I actually knew him and I got my phone taken away and well I got it back but without phone service but before that I got to go to my best friends house but after I got home I wasn't allowed to go to her house no more for no reason and well she said she hated my best friends family but I love her family and I want to live with her family so is there any way my bestfriends mom can get custody of me so I can live with my best friend since her family is amazing and which I wouldn't be the only child no more and well also my grandparents would their way or the highway and well I said the highway and they didn't like what I said so I can't go into another home but I'm choosing my way and well I want to say it's my life, my body, so it's my rules and well if they don't like it I'm going to go missing on purpose rather they like it or not so can you tell me what my friend's mom has to do

[ccsmod9]

Thanks for contacting NRS,
We appreciate you reaching out and informing us about the situation you find yourself in. Please know that you do not deserve to feel that way at home. Especially when your parents gaslight you and make you feel like you're the problem. If you feel like at any point you are in serious trouble or cannot be there any longer you can feel free to call the cops (911) and inform them about what you are feeling. It seems as though you feel like home is not a healthy environment for you any longer and you wish to leave with your friend in New York. Some things to keep in mind are that if you are younger than 18 typically you would need parental permission to leave home. If not then your parents could call the cops and file a runaway report with them. This gives the cops permission to be on the lookout and try and find you. If they do you would be brought back home and anyone who houses you has the potential to be charged with harboring a runaway. The last thing we wanted to address was that if you still feel as though you need to leave to your friends is to make sure you know your friend well. You can do this by face timing them or even through other apps like Snapchat you can video chat with them to make sure you are going somewhere safe.
We are here as support to help through this challenging time. We can best help by phone or chat as NRS is unable to respond more than twice by email to assist you. If you would like to talk more in detail please call or chat soon.

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

hi i’m 14 years old, i’m a female living in georgia wondering if i could move with a very supportive friend who’s parents can adopt me. recently i’ve gotten so mentally exhausted being in the household with my mother. each time i tell my mom and stepdad that i’m feeling a bit too depressed to do something they make me feel so crappy. they always ignore my feelings. whenever i’m upset they basically just gaslight me. i constantly get called overdramatic. one time a couple of months back i wore an outfit to school that i thought looked good, got bullied for it, went to talk to my mom about it and she tells me rude things and hates on how i look also. i feel extremely emotionally neglected and i’ve been depressed for months. my father who has little to no custody of me also does the same. i feel like the both of them never appreciate me enough. i also argue with my siblings a ton i feel like they hate me and it would be better if i was away from them. i really don’t feel like living here anymore and i’ve thought about this for a while and don’t want to upset my parents for asking to leave, but i would love to move in with my friend. i have told her how i feel emotionally neglected and she listens and helps me. we always talk about how she would love for me to move in with her but she’s a bit far she lives in new york while i’m in georgia. her parents are able to finically support me and everything and have good jobs. my grades aren’t the best but i’m currently working on them, and there’s an animal school i would love to go to there with my friend. i just feel like if i was with my friend instead i would be a lot more happier.

[ccsmod9]

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 seems there is a lot that you are faced with right now and you’re feeling like leaving is one of your only options. It seems you want to know some information on runaway laws.
While we are not experts on the law, 18 is generally the age that an individual may leave home without parent permission.We’re sorry you’re going through this. You don't deserve to be hurt in any way. If you are at risk of any danger or feeling unsafe, we encourage you to reach out to 911 or seek emergency assistance immediately. You may also be able to report any mistreatment to CPS. Child Help USA 1-800-422-4453 www.childhelp.org is an organization that helps protect minors from being harmed. They can tell you more about how CPS could respond to your situation. If you are under 18 and leave home, your parent/guardian may file you as a runaway and you may be returned home. Also, those you stay with may run the risk of being charged with harboring a runaway. For more specifics on the law, the local non-emergency police or legal aid may better answer legal questions.
We are here as support to help through this challenging time. We can best help by phone or chat as NRS is unable to respond more than twice by email to assist you. If you would like to talk more in detail please call or chat soon.
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