i'm 12 and i want to runaway in winter

hi i am 14 i hate my life i am physically and mentally abused everyday by my mom and her boyfriend ive tried suicide multiple times i dont know what to do can i runaway

[ccsmod15]

First of all, thank you so much for reaching out. We know it can take a lot of courage to do so especially in such a scary and difficult situation. It is absolutely not fair that you are being treated that way.

Our main priority is that you stay safe. If you do not feel like you are safe at home, we want to make sure you get into a safe situation. If you do feel like you want to report your dad to Child Protective Services, you can go to childhelp.com and reach out to the ChildHelp National Abuse Hotline. Another option to report your dad is to reach out to us and have us help you make a report.

If you do not want to take this option and you still feel like it is not safe at home, it is not illegal to runaway from home. However, if you do run away, your dad may decide to file a runaway report. If this happens, the police may decide to look for you and bring you back home. If you decide to do this and need somewhere to go, you can look into https://www.homelessshelterdirectory.org/ for your area.

We are available 24/7 to talk more in depth about your situation and offer additional resources for places you can go if you do decide to run away. You can reach out to us through live chat at 1800runaway.org or by phone at 1-800-RUNAWAY(786-2929).

Best of luck and stay safe,
NRS

so my dad always hits me and pulls my hair and throws me to the ground and he calls me a theift and a liar and when he thinks i am lying he hits me and leaves bruises and marks and he always says he is gonna call the cops and i said well i am going to tell them what u do and he said they wont care

[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. We want you to know that we are here as support to help you through this challenging time. It seems like your sister is wanting to run away. It might be a good idea to talk with her about what she is thinking of and how she wants to go about it to plan for safety if she did leave. Some important information that might be helpful to think about is basic runaway laws. Typically a youth cannot leave home until they turn 18 if they do parents/guardians have the right to file a runaway report with the police. From there the police would be looking for your sister. Anyone who houses her has the potential to be charged with harboring a runaway. If you would like to find more information as to what can happen we would be happy to call the police on your behalf and ask what can happen if you choose to run away. 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.

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

Please Please help! I'm 11 and my life is screwed... I've lost MANY (5 in like 4 yrs) animals and my family is all like idek... no joke but my sister(15 yrs old) wants to run away but please tell me what to do

[ccsmod15]

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. We want you to know that we are here as support to help you through this challenging time. 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.
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

hi im 13 and my parents are treating me like BS what do i do.

[ccsmod3]

Hey there. Thanks for reaching out to NRS. We know that it can take a lot of courage to reach out for support, and we're glad you took that step. It sounds like both you and your friend are going through a lot, and we're sorry to hear that.

Running away is a pretty big move, and it's important to spend some time thinking about it and trying to develop a plan if you decide that's what's best for you. It definitely sounds like you've been trying to think things over, but aren't quite sure if running away is what makes the most sense for you. While we can't tell you if your reasons are good enough reasons to runaway or if you're doing the right thing, we do think it's important to be aware of a few things and thinking through others before making a decision.

If your bff's mom lets you stay with her and drives you out of town, she could get in trouble with the law. Walking out of town for a drive that takes 4 hours is going to be a really, really long walk. If your aunt is willing to take you and your friend in, do you think that she would pick the two of you up from somewhere? If you haven't discussed this plan with her, it's probably a good idea to do that before trying to go and stay with her. It's also important for you to know that if either of you do end up staying with her and neither of your parents agree, your aunt could also get into trouble with the law for allowing you to stay there.

That said, it sounds like you both might be open to exploring additional options other than running away. Wanting to leave home when things feel really tough is normal, but it's always a good idea to try and think about some ways that we can work through what's in front of us. In reading over what you're experiencing, it sounds like you're working through some loss and not feeling supported by your stepmom. It might be a good idea to try and talk to your dad about how you're feeling, or consider talking with a therapist or a counselor. Not only do they give you the opportunity to vent, but they can also be incredibly supportive, help facilitate any tough conversations between you and your stepmom, and otherwise just be a safe person for you to talk to. You also mentioned that your friend's brother abuses her, which must be really scary for her to have to deal with. Abuse isn't okay, and Child Protective Services (CPS) may be able to help. If she's being hurt or feels unsafe at home, she can make an abuse report with CPS. She can also disclose the abuse to someone safe at school, like a teacher or the principal, and they'll file it for her. We can also file a report with her or for her here at NRS.

If either of you would like to chat in more detail about what's going on at home, share more on your thoughts on running away, or be connected with resources/referrals that might help, please feel free to reach out to us directly by calling 1-800-RUNAWAY or by chatting with us live at www.1800runaway.org. We're available 24/7 and are always happy to listen, and to help.

Take care.

NRS

Hi, me and my friend want to runaway. My friend wants to cause her parents tell at her all the time, her brother abuses her, and her dad hasn’t threatened to hurts her. I want to runaway cause my mom left me when I was four, I feel like my stepmom hates me, and my grandma just died. We have a plan, our plan is to either stay a night at my bff’s and then ask her mom to drive us to a town 4 hours out of town or just walk there. My aunt lives in that town so we’d have a place to stay but is that a good enough reason to runaway? I really want to help my friend we also have 130$
Please help us we need to know if we’re doing the right thing

[ccsmod15]

Hello there,

Thanks for reaching out to us and sharing a bit about what you're going through. It sounds like your brother is treating you very badly and this has really traumatized you. That's a rough thing to go through and it makes sense that you would want to figure a way out of that situation. Of course, suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Your safety is the utmost priority. If you ever feel suicidal you may want to call 911 or reach out to https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ online or by phone at 1-800-273-8255. Of course, you can also always call or chat with us as well.

It also sounds like you are considering running away. That's a pretty big decision to face. Providing for your own physical and emotional needs and staying safe would be extremely complicated at 12 years old. Fortunately, there are other options besides running away for you to consider. One idea would be to talk to someone you trust about what's going on: a parent, another relative, teacher, school counselor, pastor, or pretty much any adult that you are comfortable with. You may also consider writing a letter to your parents explaining exactly how you feel about what's going on. Perhaps they can intervene in a way so that your brother doesn't bully you anymore.

There are probably lots of other options as well. We would like to discuss these with you. The best way for us to do that is if you give us a call at 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929) or chat with us via our website: www.1800runaway.org (just click on the "chat" feature). We are confidential, open 24/7 and welcome your call any time.

Stay safe, stay strong,

NRS

My brother is bullying me so much bu i have literary thought about sucicde but it is so scary im 12 it is cold and winter i wanna runaway i just love my parents so much i have 15 dollars alot of suppiles i would live in an old house i am taught to cook and clean i know how to take care of myself my brother makes me cry for 1 hour like 5 times a week

[ccsmod3]

Hey there! Thank for reaching out to us here at NRS. We know that it can take a lot of courage to reach out for support, and we're glad that you took that step. We're sorry to hear that things have been tough at home, especially with your parents. While we can't tell you if you should run or not, we're happy to chat with you about your specific situation, try and help you come up with some options, and otherwise think of a plan. It sounds like you have done some thinking about running away already, and are currently weighing the pros and cons of doing so. That's a great decision. Having a plan that you've spent some time thinking through will definitely be helpful. Considering where you'll go when you run, how you'll get there, and how you'll survive when you get there are also useful things to think over.

If you'd like to talk in more detail about what's going on at home and what your plan is if you decide to runaway, please feel free to reach out to us by phone at 1-800-RUNAWAY or through our live chat at www.1800runaway.org. We're available 24/7 through both, and are always happy to listen, and to help.

Take care.

NRS

Hi my name is ———— I won’t say because I don’t want my parents to see and I’m 12 btw I want to run away because my dad is quite dramatic and hurts my dog and mentally hurts me like he compares me because I’m really skinny and my mom is rude to me and is always on my sisters side I don’t have much money I wanna take my dog with me but I don’t know if it’s the right choice so please help me should I run or not?

[ccsmod15]

Hello!

Thank you for contacting the National Runaway Safeline. It’s great that you reached out for help, and we are here to help you in any way we can. It sounds like you’re having a tough time at home. You don’t deserve to be put down or made to feel bad in your home by your family. It can also be so hard to feel like you don’t fit in and need to sell your belongings to run away and escape. These sorts of thoughts and feelings can contribute to feeling down and depressed and can make everything feel worse. A good resource that can help if you’re feeling like you may have depression and are struggling is the National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI). NAMI has a helpline you can call at 800-950-6264, or you can text “NAMI” to 741741 to get free crisis counseling services. Additionally, if you would like to discuss more about what you are experiencing at home, it could be helpful to call us at the National Runaway Safeline. You can call 1-800-RUNAWAY (1-800-786-2929) to speak with someone directly, or you can also use the “chat” feature and chat with someone live at www.1800runaway.org. We can also help match you with resources and create a plan if needed. We are always happy to help, don’t hesitate to reach out!

Hi... I am 11 years old and I think I should run away but I have know where to go my mom doesn’t like me at all and my bother calls me fat and my step dad is sick in a hospital bed in are living room and every day I feel worse I have a iPad i draw maybe I cloud sell those and have a bracelet kit maybe I can make them and sell them and have nail kit so that to and I don’t fit in I think I have depression but I don’t know can someone help? Please