Mentally and emotionally done

[Guest]

Hi, I'm a 16 year old girl and my home life honestly sucks. In the past my step dad has hurt me many times and even had cps come once. The cps lady told him that he can hit me with a belt as long as it is not with the buckle and he doesn't leave marks. Is this true? And even so he has left marks before. He has choked me 2 or 3 times and even last night punched me in my face in front of my friends. I ended up with a busted lip and asked them not to say anything about it. He emotionally abuses me all the time calling me names and vulgar words and he gets mad when I cry about it. He has been with my mom since I was 2 and my dad died years ago. I wanna do something, leave, call the cops, anything! But my head always thinks about my mom and how much she loves him so I just end up taking it and moving on. Honestly I just want someone to give me advice on what they would do. Please.

[ccsmod10]

Thank you for telling us your story and reaching out. It can be difficult telling others what has happened to you and you are strong for doing so. We want you to know that no one deserves to be abused, and you should not have to go through that. If you haven’t already, you could consider reporting the abuse you’ve been experiencing. If you want more information about abuse reporting or if you want to file a report, you could call Child Help at 1-800-422-4453. If you don’t feel safe and feel like you need to get away Nationalsafeplace.org provides a safe location for you to meet a staff member who can take you to a designated place where you can discuss all options about how to stay safe. You can text 44357 the word “safe,” and your location to find a safe location in your area. Once you arrive let someone who works there know you need help connecting with a staff member. One service we can offer is to conference call with your parents. This way you could have a conversation with your parents but you would not be alone. For example, it may be hard for you to explain to your mom how you don’t feel safe with your step dad and how it makes you want to runaway. Sometimes those conversations go better in a conference call because we can advocate for you. If you want to reach us, you can chat with us anytime at 1800runaway.org or call us at 1-800-RUNAWAY. We’re here 24/7, and we are ready to listen and help however we can.