I'm 16, and I don't wanna be here.

[Guest]

Hello, I'm 16 and I have been thinking of running away from home for a long time. I could wait until I'm 18, but that is way too long. When I say run away, I don't mean going and staying at a friends house, I want to run away to a different state, I have my own car, a license, and I have some good bit of money I've saved for a while. Specifically, I live in West Virginia, but I want to run away out west like Arizona, just enough to get away where no one here will find me or see me again. My issue is I still want to attend school, but I don't know what to do. I don't wanna drop out but I also don't wanna live here anymore, I'm losing my mind here. I want to attend college after high school and go into the airforce, but I don't know how I would go about doing that when I run away. And I don't wanna go through emancipation either. I just want to leave.

[ccsmod13]

Hi there,

Thank you for reaching out to us here at NRS and we appreciate you sharing your situation with us. You mentioned wanting to leave as soon as possible to live independently. Having a solid plan about what you are planning on doing might be a good idea so that you can think about what will and will not be possible and work for you. You may want to consider where you will stay, how you will make money to support yourself, and if you will have any support. Taking this step toward independence can be a huge step to take and we want you to be as safe as possible when making your decision.

It is still possible to finish high school, go to college, and set goals for yourself like joining the military after leaving home although it can be much more challenging and it usually means having to financially support yourself. Your right to an education is protected by a law called the McKinney-Vento Act. In most cases you do need to have parental consent to enroll in school or get your GED before you turn 18, however; sometimes there are exceptions to this for young people who are experiencing homelessness. You can go to nche.ed.gov to find the McKinney-Vento Liaison for your area and learn more about enrolling in school as an unaccompanied youth.

Our email and Bulletin services are different in that we can only respond twice, so we are best able to help by phone and through live chat. If you reach out through one of those platforms we can discuss your situation more in-depth with you, explore your possible options, and help you brainstorm a plan. We are available 24/7 for immediate support by phone at 1-800-786-2929 or through live chat at 1800runaway.org.

We look forward to hearing from you soon so that we can help,
NRS