Is it illegal to runaway when you're 14? what can happen?

[Unregistered]

wanting to run at 14

I'm only 14 years old and I can't say I have a terrible life, my parents spoil me so much but they don't show any love, my step dad expects me to do everything perfectly and he never tells me how good I've done, he will always tell me I need to do better, he even grounds me if I get anything below an 80 on my report card. my parents call me a spoiled brat and say I deserve to be beat. they don't beat me, but my dad just decides to ignore me or start an argument or talk bad about me right in front of my mom. and my real dad calls me and sometimes I answer but we just have 30 second conversations because he's a druggy and lives in his parents garage and used to beat my mom and left me and my brother when we were babies. I just want to run away that's it. don't tell me to talk to my parents at home because they WONT listen, what can I do to run away and not get caught?

[ccsmod5]

re: wanting to run at 14

Hey there,

Thank you for reaching out to us here at the National Runaway Safeline, it seems like you are going through a pretty tough time at this point in your life and we want you to know that we are here to listen and to help in the best way we can. We want you to know that you are a strong and brave person for being able to reach out to us and we are here to listen and to help you in the best way we can.

From what you shared, it seems like you are going through a pretty tough time, no one ever deserves to be mistreated or talked down to. Unfortunately, we are not here to tell you what to do and we do not tell youth how they can run away. We are here to rather explore some options and try to figure out another way to handle your situation. You mention that speaking to your parents is not an option, perhaps you can consider using our conference calling service, this is a service where you would call us and we would hold a conference call between you and your parents to talk about how both sides are feeling. We would serve as mediators, we are not here to necessarily choose sides but rather help come up with a solution that would make the situation at home better.

You mention that you want to run away from home, there are some things that you might want to consider before you do, we have listed some questions below so you can brainstorm through some thoughts:

What else can I do to improve my home situation before I leave?
What would make me stay at home?
How will I survive?
Is running away safe?
Who can I count on to help me?
Am I being realistic?
Have I given this enough thought?
What are my other options?
If I end up in trouble, who will I call?
When I return home, what will happen?

We hope that we were able to help you explore some options and think about what you really want to do. If you have any further questions or if there is anything you specifically want to talk about, please feel free to reach us directly at 1-800-RUNAWAY, we are available 24/7 or to reach out to us through our chat service which is available every day from 4:30 PM to 11:30 PM CST. We wish you the best of luck in whatever it is you decide to do and hope to hear from you soon.

Stay strong,

NRS

[Unregistered]

Hi . I ran away a few days ago . Am only 14 years old i left my house with my friends .. nd now am somewere else i dont wanna go home or go to a group home . If a cop finds me idk what ill do . What will happen??

[ccsmod0]

re:

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out today and sharing a bit of your story with us. It sounds like you’re going through a lot at home. So much, in fact, that you decided to leave home. It sounds like you left home to protect yourself. It’s smart of you to think about your options and to put together a plan to make sure that you are safe. We hope that you are in a safe place right now. We’re glad that you reached out and started asking some questions. It’s really impressive. So let’s see how we can help you out.

We aren’t legal experts, but we are able to speak generally. In general, since you are under 18, your legal guardians have the right to file a runway report with the police. If the police take the report, then they could look for you. If they found you, then they would bring you back home. That’s because your legal guardians are legally responsible for you until you turn 18.

Now, if you are unsafe at home, you have the right to report that and make that known to people. If the police find you, you can tell them about what you’re going through and they would probably make a report with protective services. It’s clear that you don’t want to go to foster care. We don’t know for sure how protective services would respond, but we can say that their main goal is to make sure that you are safe no matter what. You don’t deserve to be mistreated at home at all. And it’s absolutely not your fault that you’re being treated that way. We’re glad that you reached out with questions and we would encourage you to call or chat with us so that we can talk more. You can chat with us through our website (www.1800runaway.org) from 4.30pm-11.30pm or you can call us 24 hours a day at 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929). We are confidential so we won’t tell anyone about what we talk about.

We hope that this is a helpful start for you.

We look forward to your call or chat.

Best of luck,

NRS

[Unregistered]

Runaway

I am 15, Mentally abused & trying to bike myself from Minneapolis-Winnipeg- Seattle so I can see my dad who has never been there for me but I will know he won't send me to a mental institution like my mom is, I was depressed & used to physically & Verbally abuse & get abused by my mother, she has PTSD from a child & I swear she has multiple personality disorder, I do not want to go for 2-3 months in a residential treatment for not going to school when kids with real issues like cutting or suicide need it most, I've gotten over my depression I have planned out running away So if I could quickly understand Thr laws of running away if I cross borders to a different country & back to the U.S. through the west coast so I do not have to deal with police every step of my way. I know my dad has wanted a 2nd chance with me ever since he left when I was 3 & he was 23-24, I trust him and not my abusive mother I have no time to think but I've had the day to plan. I am not going to a residential treatment for Issues that were when I was 10-13...

[ccsmod5]

re: Runaway

Hey there,

Thank you for being able to reach out to us here at the National Runaway Safeline, it seems like you are going through quite a bit at this point in your life and we are glad that you are able to come to us in this time of crisis. We want you to know that we are here to listen and to help in the best way we can.

No one ever deserves to be treated the way you have been and we want you to know that you matter. You mentioned that you have been physically abused in the past, if that ever occurs again remember that you are able to contact your local police department if you are ever feeling unsafe. If you would like to file an abuse report, you can do so by contact Child Help USA at 1-800-422-4453 or by giving us a call, we are mandated reporters.

So we are not legal experts here, but generally speaking in most states your parents would be able to file a runaway report and if you are found you would typically just be forced to go home. The best way to find out is by reaching out to your local police department and asking them some general questions, if you are not comfortable doing so, just give us a call and we would be able to call in for you.

It seems like you have a pretty steady plan and are ready to go. There are some things you might want to consider before you decide to leave, we have listed some questions below to help you brainstorm:

What else can I do to improve my home situation before I leave?
What would make me stay at home?
How will I survive?
Is running away safe?
Who can I count on to help me?
Am I being realistic?
Have I given this enough thought?
What are my other options?
If I end up in trouble, who will I call?
When I return home, what will happen?

We hope we were able to answer some of your questions and concerns, if not please feel free to give us a call and we will be able to assist you in the best way we can. We are here 24/7 and would love to talk to you. We wish you the best of luck in whatever it is you decide to do and hope to hear from you soon.

Stay strong,

NRS

[ccsmod9]

RE:

Hello,
Thank you for reaching out again. It is great that you are thinking everything through and be safe. If you have any further questions or need to talk you can call us anytime at 1-800-RUNAWAY. We hopeto hear from you soon. Good luck.
NRS

[Unregistered]

I honostly need help with my house hold and I can't take it anymore.. I live with my grandmother and because I got taken away from my mother a few years back because of drugs, but, I honostly wished I still lived with my mom who wasn't really even there for me and my siblings in the first place. The reason why I say this is because I'm so sick of my grandma telling me and my siblings how much she hates us. Summer vacation recently started and I honostly feel like in still at school.. I'm waken up to my grandma every day at 7:00 am saying " get up and clean this house" and then yells at us because we're "lazy" even though we are cleaning constantly... She works us like slaves. I try telling her the reason we're having trouble cleaning stuff that has to put in a lot of effort for is because we're tired and we have no energy, like the other day she made us go out side and pic up seeds in 115 degrees then yells at us because we "sit around". she obviously doesn't care and yells at me and even grounds me for telling her we're not lazy we're just tired. I really need help because I'm so close to running away and I think about it every single day. Someone please help me

[ccsmod11]

RE: Is it illegal to runaway when you're 14? What can happen?

Hi, thank you so much for writing.

It takes a lot of courage to reach out for help and we are glad that you decided to do so. It sounds like you are going through a really frustrating and tough time. You seem to be acting maturely and taking your time to make a decision which is very admirable and something you should be proud of.

It sounds like things are pretty stressful. No one deserves to be yelled at and told by their care giver (or anyone else for that matter) that they are hated. Running away is not illegal; however your grandmother will have the right to file a runaway report if you decide to leave.
We are here to listen and here to help. If you want, you can call or email or chat and we can talk more about the situation and explore options such as what might make the home situation better (if anything). We offer a conference call service here at NRS if you think having a conversation with your grandmother with us as mediators might be helpful. Support systems can be a huge help in stressful times, and we can talk through who in your life helps you and provides positive support, and if you would want more people like that in your life. We could talk through who might be available, whether or not that’s a counselor or someone at school, or a drop-in center or after school activity to give you space and time away from home.
Also, if you are thinking of leaving we can talk through what that may look like. We aren’t here to tell people what they should or shouldn’t do. You know your situation the best. What we could talk through are details such as where you would go, how you would get there, whether you may need money, etc. We want you to be safe.

Again, we are glad that you decided to reach out to us. If you would like to talk further you can call us at our 24/7 confidential hotline at 1-800-786-2929 or live chat us from 4:30 PM to 11:30 PM CST. We look forward to hearing from you soon and wish you all the best.

[Unregistered]

I need help. My parents are driving me insane, they dont understand that i am a teenager and constantly abusing me with their words. I need to get out of here, i have many places that i could live in, but will i get in trouble?

I feel the same but for me I don't want them to find me

[ccsmod8]

Re: Blank

Hello there -

Thank you for taking the time out to get in touch with us here at the National Runaway Safeline. From what we can gather from your message, it sounds like you have been going through a lot right now and that you want to run away as well, but don’t want to be found. We would really like to talk to you about what your current situation is and what has been going on with you recently. You can give us a call anytime that you want on our 24/hour hotline. We would be more than happy to provide support for you and maybe offer some resources that can be of help to you. We can provided more information on your current situation.

[Unregistered]

Hi, im 17 and from texas

my parents do nothing besides scream at me, my mom moves me from florida to texas about a year ago to live with a guy ive never met just because she wanted to get married. her and this man fight constantly and then they both turn on me and scream at me. this guy has tried to get me to fight him a few times so i can be sent to juvi. he has kicked me out a few times, forces me to do any form of labor that he doesnt want to do, kicks me out of the house during the day in 106 degree weather and tells me to get a job. they sold the car my mom had planned on giving me just because he didnt want to pay the insurance, so i have to ride my bike everywhere. my bike now has 2 flat tires and im currently riding the rims and they refuse to help me by getting new tires. they wont even let me use my brothers bike, and he lives back in florida. Ive heard that in texas its illegal to runaway, but im not sure what happens to runaways. do the cops just take me back home if they find me, or will i go straight to juvi? please somebody help me

[ccsmod14]

Re: Hi, im 17 and from texas

Hey there,

Thanks for reaching out to us. It sounds like you’re in a very stressful situation right now, especially after the move. Moving to a new state with somebody you didn’t know must have been a difficult transition, especially if you feel you’re being unfairly targeted.

Running away is a big step. While we aren’t legal experts, the age of majority throughout much of Texas is 18. That means if you aren’t yet 18, running away is considered a status offense. Your legal guardian can then file a runaway report requesting that the police bring you back home if you’re found. If you want more information about running away, we have liners who are always available to discuss this option with you. You can call us at 1-800-RUNAWAY or use our chat service.

There might be other options for you before running away. If you think talking with you guardian about the situation might be helpful, we offer a conference call service where one of our liners will moderate a phone conversation between you and your guardian. Again, you can reach us at 1-800-RUNAWAY to learn more about this service. Family counseling might also be an option, or getting in touch with a school counselor. We have several resources available in our database, and are more than happy to share them if you call or chat with us.

If the situation at home is abusive, you do have the right to make a police report. You can either call the Texas Child Protective Services, or call Child Help USA at 1-800-422-4453.

We hope this information helps and that you find the support you need.

Good luck,
NRS

[Unregistered]

I wanna runaway but if i take my phone can the police track down where im at ..im having trouble in school and my mom doesnt want me there soo im just tired and i want to leave

[Unregistered]

Is it any way you guys can help me leave and not get caught or have any advice