17 needing to leave

[YukiO]

Hello,

I'm 17 and female. I've been wanting to leave my mothers house since I was 15. I've looked up a lot about leaving and have come across many mixed opinions/ facts.
Everyone that I know knows I want to leave. Even my mother. I've been told that in the state of Ga I am of legal age to move out but when I searched it up I couldn't find any solid proof that this was true. Is this true? Or perhaps is there a web site that has the real facts?
My family situation is a little complicated. Me and my mother barley get along. There is a ton of animosity in the house between everyone. Nothing as bad as physical abuse. Perhaps some psychological damage which is a reason why I want to leave. I don't really know if that is a good enough reason but stuff like that cuts deep makes people think of unnecessary things. I don't leave the house except to help howard (step dad) or do a side job my mother couldn't do that day. I did run away when I was 15. Of course I was found. But would that dull my chances of being able to leave legally?
I don't have a job but I am still in HS. I have places to go. Family and non family. I also have savings. I do have a bf but I dont plan on moving in with him and I'm not pregnant.
I'm not tryin to run away from responsibility or anything. I just need out of a stressful situation that happens to be my life. I just need out before I turn 18. Things are getting worse and I really don't wanna be around when it a comes crashing down.

[ccsmod7]

Re: 17 needing to leave

Hello there,

Thank you for posting to our online forum. It sounds like it would be really stressful to be living in an environment where there’s a lot of hostility. It sounds like a lot of responsibility is placed on you. It can’t be easy having that pressure on you on top of school and family. It’s great that you are looking to see what our options are and consequences to leaving home before taking action. We’re glad to hear that you have such a good support system outside of your immediate family who is willing to help you during these tough times.

We’re not legal experts here, but we can speak to runaway laws generally. In most places, parents can file a youth as a runaway up until age 18. There are a few areas where the police might handle runaway cases at 17 a little differently. They may not actively search for a 17 year old or they may just verify you are in a safe place, but not necessarily force you to return home. Because running away isn’t a crime, previous incidents or running away would most likely have little effect on you leaving home at a legal age.

The way police handle runaway cases can vary from county to county and even among police districts. There isn’t a website where that information is open to the public, just because it can vary by police district so much. If you want to know for sure how the police in your area handle runaway cases at your age, you could call your police non-emergency line and ask them hypothetically how they handle such cases. If this is something you’re not comfortable with, we can help by calling out to the police for you or by looking up the appropriate number for where you live.

There’s definitely a lot to think about when leaving home. It’s good that you are trying to take control of situation and figuring out your next steps in a responsible way. We hope that this information helps to clarify some things and that you call in to discuss your situation in more detail. We’re available by phone 24/7 and we have online chat in the evenings.

Stay strong,
NRS