Running away, but wants to finish high school

[Unregistered]

Hi there,
I'm 16 years old and female. My girlfriend and I are planning to run away, if things keep getting worse for us. I've saved 1700$, and we plan on getting on bus from MI to CA.
We have holes in our plans.

1)How can we still complete high school without a high school transcript? Because to access our transcripts means giving our real names.

2)Where could we stay? A emergency runaway center for teens, but we can't live there for two years, can't we?

3)Also, how would we get jobs? They usually require our social security numbers and our general information. We were planning on getting fake license, but that won't get us very far with getting a job, will it?

We want to just finish High School, apply for finical aid and try and get as many scholarships as we can, far far FAR away from our homes with out ever looking back. Can you please answer some of these questions?

[ccsmod5]

RE: Running away, but wants to finish high school

Hello,

Thanks for reaching out to us. Sounds like there's some stuff happening in Michigan that you need to get away from. What exactly is going on in Michigan that you've gotta go to California? Have you considered that anyone is going to be looking for you and you both might have runaway reports? Which is probably why you're asking the questions you've asked...

1) You have a right to go to school no matter where you are. It's an Act called the Mckinney-Vento Act which entitles you to an education no matter what your status (homeless, runaway, etc). WHat you'd need to do is talk to the Homeless Education Liasion in CA when you get there (or beforehand) and find out what proper steps you need to take to enroll into school. You can find that info here: http://nchespp.serve.org/profile/CA

2) A runaway shelter will probably house you for 24-72 hours regardless of your situation but again, because you are minors, you might come up in thatever database they use to search for names. Some shelters do have 'transitional housing' that sometimes allow people to live there for a few years but those are few and far between. If you can let us know what city you'd like for us to search for resources in, we can see if there's anything there for you that you can try when you arrive. But you're right...it's gonna be hard to find a place that's gonna take in two 16 years olds for two years.

3) Jobs are going to ask you for an identification card and a social security number, yes. With that information, if they are a legit business, they will be able to see that you are both not qualified to work as minors.

Hopefully some of that stuff helps but it sounds like your situation is much more complicated than that. If you'd like to explore this some more, you can call our crisis hotline at 1800-RUNAWAY (786-2929). We can see what else might be available to you.

Best of luck and hope to hear from you soon.
NRS

[Unregistered]

Having the same problem.

I'm 17, turning 18 in about 3 months from now, I want to continue going to school where I am now, but I don't want to live with my parents. I can get a job; my only concern is them coming to my school to get me. I just don't want to be here anymore. I don't want them coming after me. I'm willing to live anywhere. I just want to stay in my area and finish school.

[ccsmod10]

Hello,

If you have contacted NRS today through another means (for example, live chat, email or bulletin) for the same issue, it would be helpful to let us know that you have already contacted us. NRS understands it takes courage to reach out for help; therefore, we would like to minimize the need for you to repeat your situation and avoid offering you duplicate services.

Thanks,
NRS

[Unregistered]

Hi.
I am 17 years old and I ran away from my grandparents house in October 2013. I will be turing 18 in August, they never reported me and this I know for a fact because the police department ran my name and nothing came up. I want to finish High School or at least get my GED. I had a 4 years free college, because I ran away do you think I am st ill going to have that?

[ccsmod14]

Re:

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out. So it sounds like you have been away from home for awhile. Have you been staying safe? We are here 24/7 if you ever need help with anything, we are here to listen and support you the best that we can.
It is good to hear that you want to get your GED. Under the McKinny-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, children are allowed to attend their school of origin (last school enrolled or the school they attended when they first become homeless) regardless of what district the family resides in. If you are not looking to go back to school, there are programs that you could participate in online to get your GED. As far as 4 years of free college, do you mean your grandparents were planning to pay for it?
Unfortunately we cannot tell you specific answers to your questions because we don't know enough about your situation. If you call into our 24/7, anonymous and confidential hotline at 1 800 RUNAWAY (786 2929), we might be able to help you further, or if you join us on chat from the hours of 4:30pm to 11:30pm CST.
We hope to hear from you again soon!
Good luck,
NRS

[Unregistered]

Finishing High School

Alright, so I'm 18 years old with a 16 year old girlfriend whom I've been with for the past year and a half. Her mother plans on moving her because she doesn't like me, 2,274 miles away to be exact. For reasons that she has issues with self harm and depression we have come up with the conclusion that she wants to run away and stay with me. Granted I know the risk of what I'm doing but her well being means more to me than anything. What I'm wondering is how can I continue her education? She is a junior in HS, but with no way to pull her transcripts as i am not a parent, I'm at a loss of what action we should take.. Do we stick it out and have her return when she's 18, is there somebody I could speak with that could help? I can 100% support her so there is no worry there. We live in Arizona. Help would be appreciated, thank you.

[ccsmod9]

RE: Finishing High School

Hi there,

Thank you for reaching out to us and contacting us here at the National Runaway Safeline. It sounds like your girlfriend is going through a tough time right now, especially with her mother planning to move her away from you. It sounds like you are a very supportive boyfriend.

One resource that might be useful to you or your girlfriend in regards to self harm is the website To Write Love on Her Arms, which can be found at www.twloha.org. Another resource we'd like to offer is the National Suicide Hotline, which can be reached 24/7 at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Now, in regards to your girlfriend leaving home and moving in with you: it sounds like you know the risks and are mainly concerned with making sure she can finish school. For a runaway, there is a law called the McKinney Vento Act which assures an education for runaway and homeless youth. Unfortunately, we're not legal experts, so we cannot tell you the process to make sure she can enroll in school. A legal aid resource may be able to help you out in this situation. Some legal aid resources for Arizona include:

PINAI & GILA COUNTIES LEGAL AID SOCIETY
Phone number: 928-669-6188

SOUTHERN ARIZONA LEGAL AID
Phone number: 520-316-8076

We wish you the best of luck and if you'd like to talk further about this or anything else, please remember that you can call us anytime. You can reach us directly by calling our 24 hour hotline, 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929) or through our Live Chat which is open every day from 4:30p to 11:30p CST and can be accessed here: http://www.nrschat.org:88/chat/UserF...eptid=&userid=

National Runaway Safeline
[email protected] (Crisis Email)
1-800-RUNAWAY (24 Hour Hotline)

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NRSOnlineServicesSurvey

[Sia.gishbaugher8182]

Runaway 16 year old

I wanna runaway on a train and ride it out of state, but I'm only sixteen and wanna finish school I'm a junior, I got a few hundred dollars and capable of living on my own! I just need some advice and I have medication I think I'm fully capable without it but it's bi polar meds any advice on that?

[rosie]

15 years

I am 15 years old and currently want to move out. Could I stay with friends and still attend school? if my mom reports me as a runaway, could the school turn me in?

[ccsmod1]

RE: 15 years

Hello,

Thanks for reaching out to us for help. It sounds like you are thinking about running away. Have you considered the safety of your plan? It sounds like you want to leave on a train, and that you only have a few hundred dollars. Do you know how you will survive when you run out of money, or how running away will affect your goal of finishing high school? We can help you work out a plan.

Our primary concern here at NRS is your safety. You mentioned that you take medication for bipolar disorder. We are not medical doctors and cannot give you medical advice, but we know that bipolar is a very serious condition, and that sometimes it can be very dangerous or deadly to suddenly stop taking a medication, especially without the supervision of a doctor. If you stopped taking your medication and experienced side effects, do you have a plan for how to stay safe? If you need someone to talk to about all of this, we are here to listen and support you in any way that we can. We understand that you have your reasons for wanting to leave. We are looking forward to hearing about you soon, and wish you the best of luck.

[ccsmod10]

RE: 15 years

Hello,

Sounds like you are going through a tough situation. Somethings to think about is if you decided to runaway and your parents file a runaway report, the person you are staying with can possibly be charged for harboring a runaway youth. We at NRS encourage you to call us so that we can talk more about what is going on, and possibly provide you with some resources such as counseling services and other options that may be helpful to you. We are here to help.

[Unregistered]

Tough Times

Well I am 17, and have quite a bit of crap going on and I want to reset to runaway as opposed to killing myself. I will finish all the business I have here (finishing a concert, and end of college quarter stuff). I know the place I want to go along with the school (but plans can change), and I plan going there by train then bus/bike. I want to continue with the high school (I actually am a running start student, that finished most of the high school level courses), but am really unsure what to do. Do I just show up at the school's office then talk to administration? Would I show up to the door of a homeless shelter and be let in no questions asked? And how would I go about identifying myself? I know under the Mckinney Vento act I am guaranteed an education. Another thing is that I may or may not want to go home after this experience, though I know it will be weird for everyone if I came back.

[ccsmod5]

Tough Times

Hi there,
It sounds like you are going through a great deal at home and you have made a pretty detailed plan as to how to start fresh, even making sure that you stay committed to your education.

You bring up some good questions about how to approach registering for school and finding a safe place to stay. You might consider calling the school and also calling area shelters before you leave so that you can have some more information. You could try calling the school and asking some general questions about how a homeless student can register for classes.

As for shelters, each shelter's policy does vary, but they may require identification from you, and may have guidelines as to the times that they admit people. If you are able to reach out to us by phone, we could conference call shelters with you in the location you are going, and find out more about there requirements. They will probably need to contact your legal guardians to let them know you are at the shelter. You may want to ask them when and how they will contact your guardians as well. A shelter may also have a caseworker who can help you register for school.

You also mention that you are choosing to run away instead of killing yourself. It is good to hear that you are choosing to move forward with your life. In case you do have suicidal feelings though, we want to give you the number for the Suicide Prevention Lifeline. You can reach them at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to get help if you ever feel like hurting yourself or attempting suicide.

You are always welcome to call us as well or reach out through chat. We are anonymous and confidential, and we hope to support you as best we can in making the plan that works best for you.

[Unregistered]

School

I'm leaving soon and I am seventeen and will be turning 18 next year. I am tired of not being understood because I think differently and want to make a difference but my freedom is so restricted I can't do a thing. I know it's the best thing to do but I love school . If I leave can I still enroll myself in continuation school or adult school to get my high school diploma?