12 years old and want to leave

[Guest]

im 12 years old and i hate it at home my brothers beat me up and my dad yells at me a lot is it legal for me to leave and stay somewhere else for a few days without parental consent?

[ccsmod13]

Hi there,

Thank you for reaching out to us here at NRS. It sounds like you are faced with a lot at home and you are considering leaving as one of your options. It sounds like you have been feeling very overwhelmed and unsafe at home because of your brothers violent behaviors and your dad's yelling. It's understandable these things would make being at home incredibly stressful and hard.

18 is usually the age you are able to leave without permission, so you would need permission from your parent/ legal guardian until then. If you leave home without permission, your dad can report you as a runaway to the police and have you returned home. Perhaps there are a few options you would want to explore and consider. One option would be to reach out to a friend's parent, family members or other trusted adults in your life. Maybe they would be able to provide a safe place to stay and help you communicate how you are feeling to your dad. If you decide you need to leave immediately, an option could be to go to a youth shelter which provides a temporary safe place to stay and help with addressing your concerns at home. You can go to nationalsafeplace.org or text "safe" and your current address to 44357 for help finding the nearest safe place site. From there a crisis worker would meet you and possibly bring you to the closest youth shelter.

Often, having a safe space to share how you’re feeling may bring a variety of solutions previously not thought of. This may be an isolating and lonely time for you, but you are not alone in this. We want you to know that we are here as support to help you through this challenging time.

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).

We hope to hear from you soon.

Be safe and stay strong,
NRS