16, emancipation

[Unregistered]

i am a 16 year old girl. i live in a two bedroom home with my brother, his roommate, my mom & sometimes my brothers girlfriend. my brother is nt home most of the time due to work. i go days without seekng him sometimes bc i will in bed by the time hes home and ill go to scjool before he is awake. my mom is gone for a week at a time to spend time w her new boyfriend. and when she is staying at home, shes never here. she is always out. i go see a counselour and i told my brother my mom is neglecting me and he yelled at me amd told me that i need to grow up akd that i could have things much worse. im depressed and i hate school. my grades are dropping super low. i want to get emancipated but i have no other friends or family who would let me move in w them. i have no other family period. i dont know where i would stay or how i would get transportation to go places or money to eat. sometimes i dont eat because there is no food in the house. or electricity and water bill have even gotten shut off multiple times. is there something i can do to help my situation? i just want to leave this place.

[ccsmod16]

Re: 16, emancipation

Hello there!

Thanks for reaching out to us at the National Runaway Safeline. We are sorry to hear that you are having to be a part of this situation, and that you are having to deal with it by yourself. No one deserves to be treated that way. Just know that you always have the right to report any abuse (physical, mental, sexual, or neglect) to your local police department or child protective service in your state. If that is something that you don’t really feel comfortable with doing, you can always give us a call to help answer any questions about the process or to walk you through what steps there are. It sounds like the main reason you reached out to us today was because you are looking to get emancipated. It is great that you are trying to search ways to fix your situations. We are always here to listen and here to help in any way that we can.

We are not legal experts, we can only speak generally from our past experience. It is always best to check with your local law enforcement for a more precise response. Being emancipated would mean that you would be set free from your mother’s legal responsibilities towards you, and that you will be the one who will be legally responsible for yourself. With that said, part of the emancipation process is also for you to go to court and prove that you have a job, and somewhere safe to stay and also that you can sustain yourself. If you would like more information about emancipation and the process you can give a call to CHILD HELP USA at 1-800-422-4453. Another good option would be contacting your local Courthouse and asking them more questions about the matter, and if this is something you want to move forward with they will be able to connect you with court appointed lawyers. What we know is that getting emancipated by the court is a process that does take a while (about 6 months or a year). For more specific details on what you would need in order to file for emancipation please visit this website (http://family.findlaw.com/emancipati...ancipated.html). This is a helpful little website that will guide you through that process of filing for your emancipation if you choose to go that route in the end.

Another resource that you might be able to look into if you’re looking for a safe place to go, would be to visit The National Safeplace website (www.nationalsafeplace.org). This organization provides access to immediate help and supportive resources for youth in need. You can look up your city and state to see if there is any safe places near you listed. They are usually places like designated school, fire stations, libraries, etc. So that is always an option if you feel like go to talk to someone in person and what has been going on. You do have to be 17 and under to use this resources though.

It also sounds like since you are not happy at home, you get depressed. Sometimes talking to friends, or teachers can help this situation. However, if you are just wanting to talk to someone and vent about everything that is going on at home, you can give us a call here at the National Runaway Safeline. Our phone number is 1-800-RUNAWAY (1-800-786-2929). You can also contact us if you have more questions about emancipation, or about anything else that you might be thinking.

Hope to hear from you soon!