Wanting to Leave at 16

[Unregistered]

Hello,

I am 15 years old currently and turn 16 in October. In my house, if I do anything wrong I'm yelled at, called stupid/an idiot, and am sometimes beat with this sort of wooden closet rack/pole. I told my friends whom my parents don't know about the situation, and one of them in particular is my ex boyfriend; he lives in Texas and I live in Missouri. He's willing to help me, but cannot until Christmas time this year.

As you can see, I kinda have a place to go to already, but there are other things I'm worried about:

1: Schooling/education
2: How I can get to Texas efficiently

I'd love a message from you asap as my parents are extremely strict and tend to keep a close eye on me--and I believe you already know what happens if I'm caught.

Thank you SO much in advance!

~Anonymous

P.S: I also don't want to report this to any services that have to do with child abuse services. I'd like to discuss this matter first and see what I can do--reporting is the last thing I want to do, as said before.

[ccsmod10]

RE: Wanting to Leave at 16

Hi there,

We are glad you reached out to us today. We are sorry to hear that this is going on at home, and we want you to know that no one deserves to be treated that way, no matter the situation. It is understandable that you would want to possibly leave home. It sounds like you have some friends that you feel comfortable opening up to about your situation and that they’re willing to help you out.

In terms of enrolling in school, it’s a bit of a grey area and we aren’t legal experts, but we can speak generally about what we know. There’s a national program called McKinney-Vento that helps kids who aren’t under the direct supervision of a parent or guardian enroll in schools. Every school district has a contact person and that may be a good place to call and ask your questions about enrollment. Having it be summer right now, it may be more difficult to get ahold of these contacts. We invite you to give us a call at 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929) or live chat us on our website, and we can try to help locate your local liaison. During your call or chat, we could also try to look up some resources for traveler’s aid to Texas.

Leaving home can be a big decision. We are glad you are already thinking of variables such as school and travel. Safety is also important. Here at the National Runaway Safeline, your safety is our top priority, so we would want to brainstorm safe and realistic options for you through this situation.

We wish you luck and hope to hear from you soon.