18 year old running away?

[Unregistered]

I am an 18 year old female and I currently reside in Colorado with my father, I am treated as an absolute child in the household, he will not take me to get my license/ ID. I have no friends, and need my fathers permission to go out anywhere. The most I am able to go out is to the grocery store with family so I don't leave the house very often. I also do not have a bedroom door do the only privacy I get is while in the bathroom. My dad is incredibly hard to live with. He drinks A LOT on his days off and smokes weed continuously. I do not have a great relationship with my mother either (my parents are divorced). I have even heard from my dad that I WANTED THE DIVORCE TO HAPPEN. Which is extremely hard to live with. I was curious if I could legally run away and not get brought back by law enforcement. I do have money saved up until I get a proper job. I also have a place to stay.

[ccsmod13]

RE: 18 year old running away?

Hello,

Thank you for contacting the National Runaway Safeline and sharing with us some of your story. It sounds like living with your dad has become stressful and your mom is not an option for you either. We are sorry to hear that you are being mistreated at home, no one deserves to be in that environment.

You mentioned that your father often says that you wanted the divorce to happen. No one deserves to have that kind of pressure or stress put on them. We understand that this is not a place you want to be. We think it is great that you have saved up money and have a place to stay. It sounds like you have been thinking and planning this for a while. We are not legal experts but can speak in general terms. Generally, at the age of 18 you are a legal adult and you are allowed to leave without your parents permission. If you want to double check you can always contact your local PD and ask them what age you have to be to leave home without your parents consent.

We hoped this helped and if you would like to discuss your situation in greater detail we encourage you to call our 24/7 hotline at 1800.786.2929 or you can chat with us every day from 4:30pm-11:30pm. We hoped this helped and we wish you the best of luck.

NRS

[Unregistered]

Reply.

I will also be leaving a note to my family before I leave explaining the reasons why I left and to not bother looking for me; that I will come home on my own terms if needed, and I will be safe while away. I was just curious if the police would actively search for me, I would call my local PD or your hotline, however I don't have any privacy (my dad doesn't go back to work until Monday night, the night I plan to leave) and I'm worried that he will hear/ eavesdrop, etc. it was not a hastily made decision for me to leave home. I have been planning this out for a number of months and I have everything planned to the T.

[ccsmod13]

RE: Reply

Hello,

Thank you for your response. It sounds like you have been planning this for awhile and we think that it is great that you are trying to think this through. Leaving a note is an option you have. Some information for you to know is if you do leave a note of where you will be your dad may still have the option of filing a runaway report with the police. Some police departments will not consider a notes of any kind valid, other police departments may tell your dad since he knows where you are that you are not consider a runaway and that it is a family matter. It all depends on what your local police department decide to do.

We hoped this helped and we look forward to hearing from you. We understand that you do not feel comfortable making an outgoing call at the moment. Please feel free to chat with us every day from 4:30pm-11:30pm CST. We wish you the best of luck.

NRS