can they get in trouble?

[Guest]

I’m actually planning to runaway from home, my parents want to lock me in a mental hospital but I don’t want to go there again, I’m 15 years old, I’m running away to my boyfriends house, he’s not there at the moment but I want to know if going to his house, meeting his family, and telling the, what’s happening is wrong to do. My step mom doesn’t want me to stay at home anymore. I have no opportunity’s left, I’m not trusted with my siblings anymore. What should I do, I’m definitely not going to a mental hospital but I can’t stay here.

[ccsmod7]

Hello there, thanks for reaching out today. Sounds like you are going through so much right now with your stepmom and feeling like you have to run away to not have to go to a mental hospital. Here at NRS, we really want to be a support for you during this stressful, uncertain time.

To answer your question, if your runaway to your boyfriend's house. Your stepmom or whoever your legal guardian is has the right to file a runaway report for you with local police. Running away is usually considered a status offense meaning something you cannot do due to being a minor. So if you are found by police you would typically be returned home. The ones who could get into legal trouble are the legal adults who house you. So if your boyfriend's family knows that you are a runaway and they continue to house you, they could be at risk for being charged with harboring a runaway by your guardian. We are not legal experts, but harboring a runaway is typically a misdemeanor offense.

It sounds like you have a really tough decision to make with running away or going back to the hospital. From your post, it seems like your stepmom is the one really pushing for you to go there. Typically, your stepmom would have had to adopt you to have any custody rights over you to be able to make that decision of you going to the mental hospital. So if she is not your legal guardian, you might try to talk to your mom or dad if they are in the picture. If you have any supportive adults in your life like a therapist, family friend, grandparent, or teacher, you might also try to have them talk to your guardian for you. Sometimes it can help to include a supportive adult in on the conversation when your parents are not hearing you. We also have a conference call service here at NRS if you would like to have a mediated phone call with a guardian. The conference call can serve as a safe space to tell your guardian how you are feeling about not wanting to go back to the hospital and to work towards making compromises.

We are non-directive here at NRS, so we will never tell you what to do. You know your situation best and should be the one making this difficult situation. We want you to know that we are here by phone 24/7 if you ever need 1-800-RUNAWAY. We have a national database of youth shelters and we want to help you stay safe if you do decide to leave.

We look forward to hearing from you and wish you the best,

NRS