Friend wants to move in with me but she is 17

[Guest]

My friend is living in a home where she is constantly verbally and mentally abused by her mother's boyfriend. Her mother does nothing about it and it continues daily. Both her mother and her mother's boyfriend regularly use marijuana and drink quite a bit.
My friend is scared to call CPS or the police because her grandmother isn't much better and she is affraid she will be sent to her sexually abusive step father. From what it seems I am the only safe place she has and from my experience calling CPS is a bad joke.
We have discussed the financial situation as well as the other aspects of moving in and most things would work out fine besides not being able to have her dog. Just wanted to find out if there was some other option besides CPS.
She has also tried multiple times talking it over with her mother but she refuses to listen.

[ccsmod10]

Hey there,

Thanks so much for contacting us, it takes a lot of courage to reach out and share your friend’s story. It must be really hard for her to live into a home with so much tension. It seems like you care a lot and you’re a really good friend. Running away is a big decision and it can be very stressful for your friend to figure out what she wants to do. Your friend does not deserve to be abused, everyone has the right to safety. If she does opt to file a police report she can always call the National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453. There are a few different things that can happen as a result of filing a child abuse report, and every case is different so outcomes can vary.

If your friend does opt to leave your home her parents can file a runaway report, which is essentially a missing person report. Running away is a status offense, which means that it isn’t illegal, but it’s something that can’t be done while still a minor. If your friend goes to stay at your house without prior permission from her parents the adult in the house could be charged with harboring a runaway, which is a misdemeanor. Penalties for harboring a runaway vary from state to state, police officer to officer, and how her parents view the situation.

It might be a good idea for your friend to reach out to us. If she’d like to go over what’s going on in depth, or if she wants to explore other options that she may have available to her, you can’t tell her to call us at 1-800-RUNAWAY. She can also chat us by clicking on the “CHAT” button on top of our homepage. We’re open 24/7 and here to listen and support you and your friend in any way we can.

All the best,
NRS