i'm 12 and i want to runaway in winter

[ccsmod10]

Hi there,



Thank you so much for reaching out to us at the National Runaway Safeline. It takes a lot of courage to reach out during difficult times. It sounds like your living situation is stressful and unhappy, but know that you deserve to feel happy where you live.



You mentioned that your stepdad does not respect your pronouns. Know that your feelings about your gender identity are valid. One resource that might be helpful is the Trevor Project, a National Lifeline for LGBTQ youth, and information on how to contact them, chat, call, or text, can be found with the following link https://www.thetrevorproject.org/get...UaAl_eEALw_wcB. They can help support you and find coping mechanisms to handle your situation.



You also mentioned that you and your friend are bullied. Know that bullying is never okay, and you deserve to feel safe at school. One option that you have is to consult a teacher or school counselor about the bullying if you feel comfortable doing so.



As for running away, if your parents file a runaway report, the police might try to look for you and potentially send you back home. Because you are 11, it might be very difficult for you and your friend to support each other. Remember, though, that you do have options. If you decide to stay home, it might be helpful to consider healthy coping activities, such as drawing, listening to music, or taking deep breaths when things get stressful. Again, know that you deserve to feel happy and live in peace.



Additionally, know that we are here to support you and if you ever want to chat or call (1-800-RUNAWAY), we are here to listen. Our services are toll-free and confidential. The lines are open 24/7.



Stay strong,

NRS

Hey, Me and my stepdad get in arguments all the time, and he doesnt respect my pronouns. my original dad left when i was 3. me and my friend are bullied both are 11 have same birthday and want to run away together.what do i do? dad says the cops will pull the dogs out to sniff me out.

[ccsmod5]

Thank you so much for reaching out to the National Runaway Safeline. It certainly appears things are a little hard for you right now, especially when you ask your Grandma for help and she isn’t able to give it. Also, no child should be treated the way you are…hitting is never right.



Hearing that you are only 12 and have run away and miss school school enough to get expelled, there must be things going on at home and maybe even at school to make you leave. Since you have not indicated what the situation is, it would be great to find out a little more about what’s going on so that we can look at our resources and see what may be helpful in making the situation better. We are available to chat on our chat line at www.1800runaway.org (select chat option) or via phone at 1-800-runaway should you want to speak to someone personally. Running away is certainly NOT the only solution, especially because you are likely to be returned to your home because you are so young.



Please try to find a way to get in touch with us here at NRS. At 12 years old, you have a lot of time left to finish middle school then high school and we would really like to see if there are ways to help you get through the next 6-7 years. Thanks again for reaching out to the National Runaway Safeline.



Sincerely—



National Runaway Safeline.

im ****
i runaway alot im exspelled from school and im supposed to sit at my crazy grandmas all day
and when i ask her for help she yells at me and has hit me before the only issue is that its cold outside like 30 degrees but i think im gonna idk

[ccsmod6]

Hi Alexis,
Thanks for reaching out to National Runaway Safeline. It sounds like things are really challenging at home right now. You don’t deserve any type of abuse, verbal or otherwise.
While specific laws vary from state to state, 18 is generally the age which a child can legally leave home. Up until that point, your father could file a runaway report. This means that if the police found you, they’d be required to return you home. This also means that any adult who you stay with could be charged for harboring a runaway.
However, I understand that staying with your father has been extremely difficult for you. Your situation may be reportable to Child Protective Services, especially considering the fact that your father has threatened to kick you out. We can’t guarantee how Child Protective Services would respond, especially since emotional abuse can be harder to prove than physical abuse, but if they opened an investigation and found that you were at risk they might remove you from the situation. If you’d like to learn more about this option, you might reach out to Child Help USA at 1-800-422-4453 or at www.childhelp.org. They can tell you more about how Child Protective Services might respond to your situation. You can also reach out to us by phone or by chat if you’d like help making a report.
If you need a safe place to go, National Safe Place (www.nationalsafeplace.org) is a network of locations that can provide immediate help and supportive resources for youth in need. You can look up your location on their website to see if there are any safe places near you. You can also text the word “safe” with your current location (address, city, state) to 4HELP (44357) in order to immediately receive a message with the location of the closest Safe Place site. For immediate help, you can then reply with “2chat” to text with a trained counselor.
If you’d like to explore more options or talk in greater detail please reach out to us by chat or by phone. You can call us at 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929) or click on the “chat” button at www.1800runaway.org. We’re here to help 24/7. We hope to hear from you soon.
Stay safe,
NRS

hi my name is Alexis i am 12 years old and I want to away every day my dad is not abusive physically but verbally and he makes it worse everyday u see i tend to be my own little person and do what i want to do from time to time but when he tells me to do something i tend to do it but then he calls me every 3 min and i literally set a timer and the second it goes off he calls me but whenever i have i bad day he makes it worse. and he has threatened to kick me out of the house so i need som help and info on what i should do

[ccsmod15]

Hi! Thank you for reaching out to National Runaway Safeline. We understand it take a lot of courage to reach out for help with what is going on, and we appreciate you for taking that step. It must be difficult to be living in a situation that is making you want to run away.

Running away from home is a big decision to make, so it can be helpful to work through how this would look for you. If you would like to talk in more detail about what has been going on and work through what options would be best for you, please feel free to call us on our 24/7 hotline at 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929) or join a chatroom on our website https://www.1800runaway.org/youth-te...#get-help-chat. We are here to support you with what you are going through.

Good luck!

I'm 12 and I want to run away right now

[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. 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. 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

My real dad and My mom got a divorce when I was 3 and I now have a step dad and haven't seen My real dad in years.
something tells me to leave my home while the other says to stay. Mi don't know what to do parents fight often and its at night so I have lack of sleep but they blame it on my phone but I don't use my phone at night also I am 12 and I feel numb sometimes and I sometimes feel nothing but emptiness . last night I cried my self to sleep and thought about tuning away but I have no money and its fall and I want it to stop to just all to stop for a while because I can't take it much longer and I have thought about this since Summer of 2020 and I want to escape but how?
things I would bring
Tent
Sleeping bag
Pocket knife
clothes
My phone
my comfort stuffy
backpack
Face mask
Trash bags
compass
Flash light with extra batteres
Matches
A pan
my bike
And my survival guide book

I'm scared and I want this to end
Questions are
what else should I bring
What should I leave at home
Should I really do this
Can I go to a homeless shelter
will the cops make me go back home
Can I get a job?
Also im in indiana , America in Evansville
please help me i don't know what to do .

[ccsmod15]

Hello! Thanks for reaching out to the NRS. We're sorry to hear that you're struggling at home and being bullied at school. You deserve to be somewhere that makes you feel wanted and safe.

It's good that you had the initiative to decide and reach out to us about safety (and even legal) considerations before taking action. One thing that you already brought up is the fact that winter is coming and finding yourself without a warm place to stay can be very dangerous. Are you going to stay with family? friends? Other things you should keep in mind include where you will find food as well as where you're going to get money in order to buy the other things you need. Additionally, if you do have a place to go, how are you going to transport yourself there? In these sorts of situations it's important to consider all the variables that come with a big decision. One way to best flesh out one of these situations is talking to a trusted adult or even a friend about what you're feeling and what you are planning to do. Finally, while we aren't legal experts here at NRS, because you are 12, you are still a minor. We want you to be aware that it is within your parents' rights to file a missing persons report if you go off the radar, and it is possible that if you stay with another adult that they will be in trouble for harboring you.

That said, if you are still committed to running away and do not have place to go, there are youth homeless shelters we can help you find if you connect with us over call or chat. However, thse locations are not usually long-term. If you have more questions or just want to talk about your situation more with one of our representatives, feel free to call us at 1-800-RUNAWAY (1-800-786-2929) or chat with us at 1800runaway.org.

NRS

im 12 almost 13 I wanna run away because i tired of being blamed for every thing I do and being bullied at school.

[ccsmod13]

Hi- Thank you for reaching out to NRS and telling us a little about what is going on and what you are looking to do. We know it can be difficult to reach out but you are taking a great first step to get support.

It sounds like you are looking to leave home and get space away from your family. There are a few options we can look at. The first and easiest option is to get your parent’s permission to leave and live somewhere else. If you are looking for options for a foster home, you can contact Child Protective Services at childhelp.org or calling 1-800-422-4453. Another option is emancipation and this is often a lengthy and difficult process. Most states require the youth to be at least 16 years old and able to demonstrate they can support themselves financially. There are other options NRS can assist with like searching for legal aid resources so you can obtain advice from a lawyer.

If you would like to go over more in depth about what is going on and explore options further, please do not hesitate to call us at 1-800-RUNAWAY or chat with us through 1800runaway.org. We are available 24/7 and here to listen and support you anyway we can.

Thank you, NRS

I’m 12 years old and I rill wanna run away
plans
run away to nyc or California
I’m so scared to get caught but u know
life is life and it’s short so I have to enjoy it
while it’s now,ofc I’m going to miss my family but
all they do it judg me and body shame me so
yah ofc I love them but I can’t handle this.
im going to bring…
food.water.money.pads.act
i really need to do it after Christmas lol
so I can have more money to get a flight to Cali
ill prob stay out ther for like 8 months and then. I will
ask to go in a foster home. I love this to get my feeling out

[ccsmod9]

Hello,
Thank you for contacting NRS. We appreciate you reaching out to us and trusting us with your situation. We understand it takes courage to reach out for help. We are truly sorry to hear that your mom and her boyfriend are causing you harm. We want to be clear and say that is not okay and you do not deserve to feel hurt or be hurt in any way. Your safety and well-being is important. If you are at risk of any danger or feeling unsafe, we encourage you to reach out to 911 or seek emergency assistance immediately. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (8255); www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org is also a great resource to reach out to in addition to our crisis services.

Often, having a safe space to share how you’re feeling may bring a variety of solutions previously not thought of. Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. This may be an isolating and lonely time for you, but you are not alone in this. We want you to know that we are here as support to help you through this challenging time.

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).

We hope to hear from you soon.

Be safe and stay strong,

NRS