16, Texas, planning to leave home in one year.

[Saudinae]

I've been absolutely miserable at home, my parents are emotionally and verbally abusive, and for my own mental health I would like to leave as soon as possible. I have two friends, 19 and 24 who I would like to stay with. Once there I can enroll in high school again and get a job, using the money from that and my savings to support myself. I want to continue my education and hopefully go on to college as well, but I need to leave home. I decided I can stay one more year to prepare.

I would like to do it as legally as possible, so how would this work? I live in Texas but my friends are in Georgia. What are the steps I need to take?

[ccsmod2]

Thank you for reaching out to us and telling us a bit about what's going on. It sounds like you are in a difficult situation right now and it's very brave of you to tell us about this. Hopefully we can help you find resources or come up with a safety plan. Unfortunately, we aren't legally trained here so we can't say for sure what would happen if you were to leave but again, we can try to help you locate some legal aid resources.

It sounds like you are thinking about leaving home and you're trying to devise a plan in order to stay safe as well as continue with school. It's great that you are trying to do all of this and having an idea of what you may need before leaving. It also sounds like your friends have said that you can stay with them after leaving home; one thing to keep in mind though is that if you leave home before turning 18, your friends may get into trouble for harboring a runaway or contributing to the delinquency of a minor. If you leave home without your parent or legal guardian's permission, they may have the option to file a runaway report with the local police department. In most states, if a youth leaves home before turning 18, they may be considered a runaway; running away is generally a status offense which is something you can't do because you are considered to be a minor.

If you would like to talk more about what's going on at home or explore what resources may be available to you, you can reach us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929) or through our online chat services from 4:30 PM-11:30 PM (CST), 7 days a week.

We look forward to hearing from you and wish you the best of luck!

~NRS

[Elyssa]

need advise-so many problems

I need help

[ccsmod9]

RE: need advise-so many problems

Hello,
Thank you for reaching out. It seems like there isn't much content in your bulletin. You can feel free to contact us at 1-800-RUNAWAY. We hope to hear from you soon. Good luck.
NRS