No idea what to do...

Hey, okay, here's the deal.

My mom has gone pretty crazy. Attacking me, cutting me off from my best friend that lives states away, all that kind of stuff. I've been going to a therapist as of late and she suggested that I was perhaps suffering from depression.

During the session my mom seemed to take that as a possible explanation, but when we returned home she turned on me. She went off on me, saying that I could scam the therapist but I couldn't scam her. That I'm just lazy, not depressed.

I've been trying to think of a few ideas, running is pretty much a back up if my current doesn't work out.

We live in Maryland and I have family in New York that might be willing to take me in, but there's a good chance they'll side with my mom. If they do, I'm pretty much SOL on that front.

I'm really struggling with the idea of running if this doesn't go through. I know I can't stay with my mother, she's just... gone off the deep end. I love her, but it's really impossible to live with her at this point. Cutting me off from my best friend almost led me to do something I would have regretted for a good long time. (I believe you can guess what that is).

I need to think of some options if I choose to run. I've been looking at laws and what not, and I believe it's illegal to harbor a runaway in most states (thought I'm not sure, could this be clarified for me?). The reason I bring this up is because a few people have offered to shelter me if I decided to do this, but I don't want to get them in trouble.

Uh, I'm 16 if that makes any difference.

... Wow, jeez, that was a bit of a ramble.

I need a plan. *sighs*

[ccsmod0]

Re: No idea what to do...

Thank you for posting a bulletin and reaching out to us. We are sorry to hear that you feel your mom has been pretty crazy. It sounds like it must be hard not being able to contact your friend that lives out of state. We are sorry to that your mom turns on you once you return from your therapist session. It sounds like things have been tough on you to the point of considering running away.

We are glad to hear that you have thought of what you might do if you decide to leave. If you do decide to go to New York, do you know how you might get there? Or how you might get back to Maryland if things didn’t work out? Here are a few other things to think about before you leave (these are directly from our website):

• What else can I do to improve my home situation before I leave?
• What would make me stay at home?
• How will I survive?
• Is running away safe?
• Who can I count on to help me?
• Am I being realistic?
• Have I given this enough thought?
• What are my other options?
• If I end up in trouble, who will I call?
• When I return home, what will happen?

You had mentioned that you are in therapy, have you been able to discuss running away with them? It sounds like you have talked with people about possibly staying with them. Have you been able to talk to anyone else about it? If you were to leave do you think your mom would file a runaway report? Running away is generally not illegal and considered a status offense. This means that the police will take the information to enter in the national data (NCIC) for all police departments to access. If the police pick you up for any reason and run your information; you would show as a runaway status. If your mom were to file a runaway report, she would then have the right to charge the adult person with harboring a runaway. Harboring means to provide shelter for someone and runaway is considered a minor that leaves home without parent(s)/legal guardian permission. However, we want to let you know we are not legal experts, but you are welcome to contact your local police to get more clarification. You can look up your local police contact number through: http://www.usacops.com/md/.

We are not here to tell you what to do or what not to do. However, we are here to explore options with you, provide local resources/referrals, offer conference calling to your parent (s)/legal guardian and/or social services agencies and be a listening ear. We are 24 hours a day 365 days a year, the hotline that is confidential, anonymous, and free. We can be reached at 1800-RUNAWAY (786-2929) and we look forward to talking more with you about your situation. Best wishes!

Take care,
NRS