16 and alone

[Guest]

My story is very long and difficult to keep up with. It started off as me living with my alcoholic mother who has been drinking due to personal issues and my abusive father. In the beginning of my life he wasn’t in the picture. When I was about 4 he had reached out and had fought for custody of me and my sister (she’s 5 years older than me.) He had won and at first we were happy. Then the abuse started. He would go days without feeding us, force us to sleep in the dog pen, and had always found ways to lock us into our room when he went to work or something. His wife has never liked my sister or I and she was never afraid to show it. Eventually they started their own family and it was clear that we weren’t a part of it. Eventually my grandma came into the picture and had helped us. She had gotten ahold of my mom who then got custody of us. While I was growing up I never knew how bad of an alcoholic my mom was. She would get abusive, both mentally and physically. But at this point it seemed normal for me. I’m not going into details about what it’s like living with someone who needs help but refuses to get it, but it hasn’t been fun. I’m 16 now and have nowhere to go. My mother has kicked me out because she believes I’m trying to kill her, my sister is moving in with her boyfriend that lives in a different state, and my father is in prison. I do have a job and do good in school. The school does know but don’t know what to do. And the police know but don’t know what to do. All they say is to stay away from my mom. I’m not allowed to stay in the women and children’s center because I’m not 18 and nobody wants a 16 year old living with them so I’m pretty much doing this by myself. I don’t have family I can reach out to and I have no idea what to do from here.

[ccsmod13]

Hello,

Thank you for sharing your story with us. We understand it can take a lot of strength to reach out. From what you shared you have been dealing with a lot and have been doing the best you can. Abuse in any form is never okay and it is not your fault. As you parent, your mother is supposed to be taking care of you and making sure you feel safe at home, but it sounds like she has not been doing that. You mentioned that you have already taken the steps to notify your school and the police which is really responsible of you. Being kicked out by a parent before the age of 18 could be a case for neglect. You could ask someone at school to help you contact child protective services or you could call the national child abuse hotline at 1-800-422-4453. We cannot say for sure how CPS will respond to your situation but it could mean being placed in a foster care or a group home setting. If this is not necessarily the route you wanted to take or you wanted to consider other options, please do not hesitate to call or chat us. We can help you find a youth shelter or a transitional living program if that is something that you are interested in. We are available 24/7 by phone at 1-800-786-2929 or chat at 1800runaway.org if you would like to talk more your options more in-depth.

Take care,
NRS