Running Away

[Guest]

I am 14 years old. My parents are super screwed up, and they are always fighting. My dad has anger issues, and my mom is helpless in any situation. Both of them put me down and my mom tells me I am worthless, and means it. I have ADD and I cannot function well in school, even though I am very smart. My greatest fear is growing up to work behind a desk and have a routinely boring life to support a family. I have weighed my options, and running away seems to be the best one. For years I have been planning a cross country trip. I was wondering what I can do after either I want to return to society, or if I stay a vagrant until I am 18, how to reintegrate.

[ccsmod9]

Hi there,
Thank you for writing to us here at National Runaway Safeline (NRS). We understand it takes great courage to reach out, and we appreciate you sharing a little bit about what’s going on. It seems there is a lot that you are faced with right now and you’re feeling like leaving is one of your only options. It seems you want to know some information on runaway laws.
While we are not experts on the law, 18 is generally the age that an individual may leave home without parent permission. If you are under 18 and leave home, your parent/guardian may file you as a runaway and you may be returned home. Also, those you stay with may run the risk of being charged with harboring a runaway. For more specifics on the law, the local non-emergency police or legal aid may better answer legal questions. Also if you do decide to start back up we do offer resources like programs that can help you back on your feet called transitional living programs you would just need to reach out to us for those resources.
We are here as support to help through this challenging time. We can best help by phone or chat as NRS is unable to respond more than twice by email to assist you. If you would like to talk more in detail please call or chat soon.
Our contact information is 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929); www.1800runaway.org (click on the chat button).
If you are at risk of any danger or feeling unsafe, we encourage you to reach out to 911 or seek emergency assistance immediately.
Be safe,
NRS

[ccsmod1]

Hey there,

Thanks so much for contacting us, it takes a lot of courage to reach out and share your story. It must be really hard to live in a home with so much tension. Running away is a big decision and it can be very stressful to figure out what you want to do. We’d like to stress that despite what you hear, you have great worth and value. Your future is full of possibilities and no matter the route you take, you don’t have to work a particular type of job if you don’t want to.

It’s important to consider all the possibilities that can occur if you leave home. You will need to plan out how you will cover basic necessities like travel, food, clothing, etc. If you have a place to go in mind, it’s good to see what the expectations of the living arrangement will be like; rules, the amount of time you’re allowed to stay, if you’re expected to contribute financially, etc. You mentioned a life of vagrancy, if this is an option that you are seriously thinking about it’s very important to assess the safety of situation that you’d be in and think about how you would protect yourself from people who wish to harm you/force you to do things that you aren’t comfortable with as well as falling victim to weather exposure. This can all influence your decision to leave.

You mentioned that you’re struggling in school due to ADD. It can be really hard to live with mental health issues and we want you to know that you aren’t alone in addressing them. If you’d like some additional support, an organization that may be helpful is the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). You can contact them by calling 1-800-950-NAMI or you can text them by sending NAMI to 741741. Another agency that could be of great help is the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), they can help you locate low or no cost mental health care providers in your area. Their number is 1-877-726-4727 or you can go to their site at samhsa.gov.

If you’d like to go over what’s going on in depth, or if you’d like to explore other options that you may have available to you, please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-800-RUNAWAY. You 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 in any way we can.

All the best,
NRS