I have a family member who has run away. She is 17 and will not be 18 until late 2014. Her mother is abusive verbally and is an alcoholic (drinking more than a handle of hard alcohol every two days). Her stepfather is insisting on "getting her in legal trouble as a form of teaching her a lesson". He does not work and does not even see or take care of his own children. Her parents get alot of monthly support for social security from her real father who has passed away. She is not allowed freedoms (cant even use the bathroom without her parents walking in to check on her - even opening the shower curtain while she showers-not sexually-but still not acceptable). Fights often turn physical on both of their parts. The only company she has is her moms friends who often come over and drink themselves to falling down - the entire time talking about how bad my family member is and how she is on drugs, and sexually active and how bad she treats her parents. All the while she must sit and listen to this as she is not trusted to be elsewhere. It is not abusive to make her sit there while her parents and their freinds just humiliate her over and over. She is having a hard time in school due to all the upheaval at home. She is not using drugs despite her parents blasting all over facebook and the neighborhood that she is. I know this because another person in our family gave her the $50 home drug test and she tested negative for everything. She has run away several times and this last time has been gone for over 3 months. She lives in Indiana. Her parents have told her that they will press federal charges against anyone that helps her. They are harrassing her boyfriend and even brought the police to his house to have him arrested for "contributing to the deliquency of a minor". They had to drop charges though because he was not with her.
I have received a call from her to let me know she is ok, but it was blocked and she will not tell me where she is. She is also now pregnant and terrified that if she gets caught as a runaway that her parents will have her go to juvinelle detention as threatened and they will either make her have an abortion or much more terrifying that her mom will get custody of her baby. I want to help, but do not know how. She is supposed to call again to let me know she is ok. She has other family members who are responsible and wanting to take her in, but she is afraid she will get them in trouble.
Is there a way that she can legally go to another family member? If she tries to get her GED will that cause them to find her? She is even worried that if she gets another job, they can find her from having to give her drivers license or social security card. She wants to get health care for her and the baby and she is worried they will find her. Who should she call and will they be able to help her or does she just have to continue hiding? Her mom will not let her live somewhere else - we dont know if it is because of the money she gets for her each month or that she is just trying to continue to control everything she does, thinks, says and who she talks to.
She is smart and sweet and scared. She is not perfect - but no one is. She should not have to live in that enviornment and now life is going to be much harder on her than it should. She wants to go to college and have a career and not to live like her mother does.
Please offer help and suggestions.
I have received a call from her to let me know she is ok, but it was blocked and she will not tell me where she is. She is also now pregnant and terrified that if she gets caught as a runaway that her parents will have her go to juvinelle detention as threatened and they will either make her have an abortion or much more terrifying that her mom will get custody of her baby. I want to help, but do not know how. She is supposed to call again to let me know she is ok. She has other family members who are responsible and wanting to take her in, but she is afraid she will get them in trouble.
Is there a way that she can legally go to another family member? If she tries to get her GED will that cause them to find her? She is even worried that if she gets another job, they can find her from having to give her drivers license or social security card. She wants to get health care for her and the baby and she is worried they will find her. Who should she call and will they be able to help her or does she just have to continue hiding? Her mom will not let her live somewhere else - we dont know if it is because of the money she gets for her each month or that she is just trying to continue to control everything she does, thinks, says and who she talks to.
She is smart and sweet and scared. She is not perfect - but no one is. She should not have to live in that enviornment and now life is going to be much harder on her than it should. She wants to go to college and have a career and not to live like her mother does.
Please offer help and suggestions.
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