I Wanna Run Away Now!!

[Unregistered]

ok so im 15(female) living in Michigan and I wanna runaway or just leave my home and not go bck for awhile or to a relatives for awhile , if I get caught will I have to go back home even if I don't want to? ive been thinking about this over and over but never really made up my mind on where I would go. im getting pretty sick of living here and going with my mother is NOT an option!! if I were to runaway where would I go is the biggest thing stopping me from doing it.

[ccsmod14]

Re: I Wanna Run Away Now!!

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out to us here at the National Runaway Safeline. It sounds like you have been thinking about running away for a long time now but you do not know where you would go to. It is really good to be thinking through your options and trying to make a plan for yourself, it sounds like you want to stay safe. This is good to hear, we’re here to help the best that we can.

So you shared that you want to leave home for a while or go to a relative’s home for a while. It sounds like things at home have been stressful and living with your mom is not an option. Do you have relatives in your area that would let you stay with them for a little while, to give you a break from things at home? It sounds like you’ve thought about staying with relatives before and it is good to know that you have this support if you need it. If you were unable to stay with any relatives, do you have any other close friends or family members that would allow you to stay with them for a while?

We’re not legal experts here, but generally speaking if you leave before you are a legal adult (in most states this is 18 ), your legal guardians would have the right to make a runaway report if they did not give you consent to leave home. Generally speaking, running away is not a criminal offense, it’s a status offense so this means if a report is made, and the police find you they would just bring you back home. However, anyone that you stay with could potentially be charged for harboring a runaway.

If you are feeling unsafe at home, you can look further into an organization called Safe Place here, nationalsafeplace.org. Again we’re not experts, but if you were looking into resources such as shelters, these are a very short-term option for minors. Shelters are at risk of the same harboring laws that individual adults are, so generally they would need to either notify or get consent from law enforcement or legal guardians before keeping a youth in their facility for an extended period of time.

If you would like to talk further about your situation, please do not hesitate to call or chat with us. We’re here to help you out as much as we can.

Good luck and stay safe,
NRS