Friend in a bad situation

[Guest]

posted is earlier but I have more questions.I have a friend who i met a while ago well ill just go right in. Her parents sent her to live with her uncle and aunt she doesnt know why they had some problems idk and so now she lives with 6 cousins and uncle and aunt. She is treated like complete garbage. They hit her with bats and fists when she doesnt behave. She's told me that her uncle gives her sleeping pills and undresses her and well... you know. I dont want to believe it I really dont. We are both minors. I dont know what to do. I want to help but I can't. They don't know she has a phone. Her cousins aren't treated the same. I have some more questions to add. If she were to go to the police what would happen to her? What are all the possibilities? And is there anyway she can stay with me even for a little? We can provide for her and we have space here. She is scared of grouphomes so I want her to be able to stay with me or at least with another friend.

[ccsmod13]

Hi there,

Thank you for taking the time to follow up with some questions for your friend. It sounds like you care a lot about her safety and she is lucky to have a friend like you. From what you shared, your friend is in a dangerous situation with her aunt and uncle. We want to encourage both of you to speak to any adults in your life that you trust such as your parents, a teacher or counselor, a doctor, or a religious leader. Getting a trusted adult involved can bring in more people who to help your friend.

Your friend and anyone else who knows about this does have the option to report the abuse to child protective services or to the police. Once a report is made, child protective services would do an investigation. If they find that your friend is not safe staying with her aunt and uncle then she would be removed from the home. The goal of CPS is to ensure she has a safe place to live. CPS will usually place a child with a family member first if possible, but if no one is available then they might have to consider other options like a foster home placement. It would be a helpful start to talk to your parents first to see if they are willing to contact CPS and ask about what it would take for your friend to be able to live with you if it is possible. We can't say for sure what would happen though because it can vary case-by-case. If you or your friend want to learn more before making a report you can speak with an advocate at the National Child Abuse Hotline, childhelp.org.

Our email and Bulletin services are different in that we can only respond twice. If you would like to talk more in detail about your situation and receive immediate help, we encourage you to reach out to us through our hotline at 1-800-786-2929 or use our live chat services at 1800runaway.org (click on the CHAT button on our website homepage).

Take care,
NRS