14 yrs old-runaway or emancipation in tx

[Guest]

well im 14 years old living in Texas currently. I want to run away, or at least get away from both of my parets you are seperated. I cant live with my mom becaus she mentally abuses me, and also my father does the same. I have been hurtin the past by both parents-physically and mentally. I want to be emancipated or able to live with another family member/or friend(better). I just need help-if I can get emancipated or switch my legal gaurdians, that will most likely keep me from running away

[ccsmod8]

Re: 14 yrs old-runaway or emancipation in tx

Hello,

Thank you for writing to us with your concerns. We are here for you and our main priority is your safety at all times. Do you feel safe at home? You do not deserve what your parents are doing to you. It is your right to feel safe at home. We are not in the position to tell you what to do but we are here to help you sort this issue out if you were to give us a call directly at 1800RUNAWAY. We are confidential and anonymous. Have you ever thought of filing an abuse report before? We do not define or investigate abuse. Since you mention mental abuse, it can be hardest to prove versus physical abuse. Physical abuse tends to need eyewitnesses or evidence to confirm it is happening. Do you have anyone who will be able to come forward to speak freely on your behalf?

Although we are confidential we are mandated reporters too. You are welcome to call us for support and resources but if we were given certain info for your parents, we are federally mandated to report your situation to the proper authorities. However, we are not legal experts and cannot speak for state laws. Every state differs in terms of rules for emancipation. Have you thought about alternatives to solving the issue at hand? What if you were to sit down with an adult at school or relative to get their perspective on the issue? Emancipation can be a lengthy process and it requires parental consent in some cases unless a judge felt it in your best interest to become emancipated. Your age can be taken in account in some cases because it requires that you are self sustaining with job, school and money to provide financial and social independence.

In Texas, a minor may become emancipated under the family code. § 31.001. There are various ways to meet these requirements. For example: A minor may petition to have the disabilities of minority removed for limited or general purposes if the minor is: (1) a resident of this state; (2) 17 years of age, or at least 16 years of age and living separate and apart from the minor's parents, managing conservator, or guardian; and (3) self-supporting and managing the minor's own financial affairs. (b) A minor may file suit under this chapter in the minor's own name.

Some resources to consider calling if you need further explanation of the process are LEGAL SERVICES OF NORTH TEXA at 214-744-5277; 888-529-5277/. They can be reached from 9:00am-12:00pm Monday to Friday. The second resource is the HOUSTON VOLUNTEER LAWYERS PROGRAM at 713-228-0735 from 8:30am-5:30pm Monday to Friday.

It sounds like you are truly seeking a way out. Do you have a proper plan? How would you survive if you were to leave home? Are there relatives you can talk to so that you can go live with them for a little while? It is not as easy to get custody transferred to another relative or friend. They first have to step up to take action to prove to the court or Child Protect Services that your parents are unfit. The process requires a petition filed in court or an investigation by social workers from CPS. If found negligent, your parents can be made to correct their ways, go to therapy or having you live elsewhere to remain safe. We cannot guarantee the outcome. However, we can advocate on your behalf because we care for your well being here. We hope to hear from you soon. We are 24 hours a day and can be reached toll free. Good luck.

-NRS

[Veronica]

I'm 14 to

I ranaway to once for like two and a half days last year and my mother always put me down and talked about me alot so I'm planning on doing it again but I want someone or anyone to have guardianship over me as long as I get treated right and feel free to be my self

[ccsmod14]

Re: I'm 14 to

Hi there,

Thank you for contacting us and telling us about your situation. It sound like you are going through a pretty rough time with your mom.
Since you mentioned not wanting your mom be your guardian any more I want to tell you that it can be possible for you to get emancipation from your parents in some states depending on your circumstances. Emancipation is a legal action and means that your parents would no longer be your legal guardians. This can be a longer processes and is not always possible but if it's something you think you may be interested in hearing more about we can provide you with more information based on your city and state.
If you would like to hear more about this or any other possible solutions to your situation please call us for more information and resources. We are here to answer your call 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week. You can reach us at 1800-RUNAWAY. You can also chat online with us between 4:30pm and 11:30pm to receive assistance.
Thanks again for reaching out to us and we hope to hear more from you.
Best of luck,
NRS

[Anon]

Emancipation?

I wish to be emancipated because my father can be abusive. Tonight something happened that was rather uncalled for but it happened and I want to leave asap. I wont give names but went to a store to order food and the bill was little expensive (5 dollars over) My dad threw a fit and threw me across the kitchen, only then to corner me and beat on me. He made me go back and get the money. Long story short, a lady at the store knows. She saw one of my bruises and begged me to give her my address so she could call CPS. I wanted to but said no. You see, I've been in the system. I know what its like. And i don't want to go back. I also don't want to move away from the high school I'm attending next year. This isn't the first time something like this has happened. I'm just personally at my last straw. I'm 14, too young to get a job and too old have a chance of being adopted. Is there any possible way to get emancipated without parental consent? Any advice would be helpful, thanks.

[ccsmod13]

RE: Emancipation?

Hello,

Thank you for reaching out to the National Runaway Safeline and sharing with us some of what has been going on. If you have contacted NRS today through another means, such as our chat service, for the same issue, it would be helpful to let us know that you have already contacted us. NRS understands it takes courage to reach out for help; therefore, we would like to minimize the need for you to repeat your situation and avoid offering you duplicate services. Thank you again for contacting us. It sounds like you are trying to figure out what is best and we glad that you trust us with your story. We look forward to hearing from you on our hotline or chatting with us on our website. We wish you the best of luck.

NRS

[Guest]

Hello, I live in texas and im 15 i want to be emancipation. I have an alcoholic father ehich csn cause him to be abusive but i had always blamed it on the alcohol but he had beat me a few days ago and he was completely sober not one drink.My mother on the other hand i love her but she wont leave him so i want to leave is there any possible chance i coipd get emancipation

[ccsmod3]

Hi,

Thank you for reaching out to us. It sounds like you have been through a lot, and that you are a very strong person.

Know that you do not deserve to be hurt or beaten. If you ever want to talk to someone about what you are going through, please call us at 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929), or the National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453. Either of us can also help you report what is going on to Child Protective Services to help your living situation be much safer for you.

You mention wanting to be emancipated. We are not legal experts, but to be emancipated in Texas you have to be at least 16 years old, be living on your own, and be supporting yourself. If you want a referral to legal help to talk to a professional about getting emancipated, you can give us a call.

Thank you again for contacting us. You do not deserve to be hurt at home and we hope that these resources are helpful for you. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you would like to talk further.

We hope this response was helpful! We'd love to hear from you about your experience using our crisis email/forum. Your feedback plays an important role in helping us improve our services to support youth and families. Please click the link below to fill out our survey.

Tell us what you think about your experience!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/we_care_what_you_think

-NRS


-NRS

[Guest]

im about to be 15. what do i do when im gay and my parents dont like that

[ccsmod5]

Thank you for contacting us, it takes a lot of courage to be vulnerable to your parents and tell them that you’re gay. There ae a few options for where you can look for support during this difficult time.
1) Finding someone you feel safe with who could be a mediator between your parents and you (i.e. family member, school counselor, teacher, or guidance counselor). Here at NRS, we offer conference call mediation.
2) Is there a close friend or a family member that you feel safe to talk to?
3) Is there a counselor at school you would feel comfortable reaching out to?
4) There is the National LGBT Hotline (88- 843- 4564 or glbthotline.org
It is not easy to reach out and ask for help, asking for help takes more courage than staying silent. You can always call or chat with us here at NRS, we are here 24/7/365.

[Guest]

Hi im 16 and my mom smokes all the time and abuses me mentally. I am working and was doing great in school but her and my grandma are always putting me down and o get really depressed and i had started cutting and tgey didn't even notice or seem to care until someone told them about it. I would like to get emancipated along with my girlfriend who as well has abusive parents who hit her although she is only 14. Would we both b able to get emancipated together and start living together

[ccsmod7]

Hello there, thanks for reaching out today. Sounds like you are going through a lot at home, and it is not okay that you are always being put down by your mom and grandmother. You should be supported when you are feeling depressed and cutting rather than being put down or ignored. Here at NRS, we truly want to be support during this difficult time.

It might be possible for you to be emancipated depending on your state's laws, we are not legal experts but can speak generally about emancipation. Generally emancipation is a timely and costly process where you would prove that you are financially self-sufficient and able to take care of yourself. To petition for it you would contact your local family court. Here at NRS, we can look for legal aid resources in your area if you are in need. The whole point of emancipation is to prove that you are financially self-sufficient and able to take care of yourself without any assistance. Unless you are in California, most states require youth to be 16 or 17 to petition for emancipation, so your girlfriend might be too young to petition the court. Please do not hesitate to call or chat us if you would like us to look at your state's emancipation law or if you are in need of legal aid resources: 1-800-RUNAWAY; WWW.1800RUNAWAY.ORG.

You mentioned experiencing emotional abuse which may be reportable against your mom. Please keep in mind you by no means deserve any type of abuse, emotional or otherwise. Unfortunately, emotional abuse is often harder to provide evidence for compared to physical abuse which is often what CPS relies on when conducting an abuse investigation. That said, we can’t be 100% sure what the outcome will be if your local CPS decides to open a case based on what you share. Sometimes CPS decides to remove minors from the home and other times they offer services such as family counseling or mediation instead. The only way to know the outcome might be to reach out to them directly and if you’re ready to do that we are here to help you through that process. Reaching out to Child Help USA at 1-800-422-4453 or www.childhelp.org may help to get a better understanding of what may happen before and after a report is made.

During this difficult time, it's important to take care of yourself. If you ever want to talk to someone about how you are feeling please know that you can alwasy call or chat us. You might also reach out to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) at 1-800-950-NAMI or text NAMI to 741741. They can talk to you as well and look for local mental health resources for you if you ever need.

We hope this helps. Please reach out if we can offer any further support.

Be safe,

NRS

[Guest]

Hello i’m a 14 year old boy, and my parents are divorced. I stay with my dad every other weekend but he constantly mentally abuses me and use to physically abuse my mother while i was growing up. He makes me stay with him and his girlfriend which is against court order as I should stay in his house. I am also legally obligated to my own room and bed which I have never had the privilege of when staying with him. I was thinking of running to my moms house but don’t know the state laws or the consequences of me being a “runaway”. I really just need guidance from someone who knows the proper laws regarding my situation.

[ccsmod1]

Hey there,

Thanks so much for reaching out and sharing a little bit about what's been going on, we know that it takes a lot of courage. You shouldn't be treated that way by your father and the way that he treated your mother in the past is unacceptable. Things can get a little sticky when custody agreements are at play and it may be a good idea to speak with a local legal aid group about the options that you and your mom have. If you need help finding an agency you can go to https://www.lawhelp.org/find-help/. Since your mom has joint custody of you, the police may let you stay there if you left your dad's. If you'd like more information on local policy you can contact the nonemergency police line by calling 311 to see what police response would be. You also mentioned that you are not given your own bed when staying with your father. If you feel that there is any neglect going on while at your dad's/his girlfriend's house you have the right to report it to CPS. If you feel like this is an option you want to explore, you may find this website helpful: https://www.childhelp.org/child-abuse/.

If you’d like to go over what’s going on in depth, or if you’d like to explore other options that you may have available to you, please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-800-RUNAWAY. You can also chat us by clicking on the “CHAT” button on top of our homepage. We’re open 24/7 and here to listen and support you in any way we can.

Stay safe,
NRS

[Guest]

At the age 16yrs old can I leave foster care and go start me a life

[ccsmod1]

Hey there,

Thanks so much for reaching out and sharing a little bit about what's going on, we know that it takes a lot of courage. It makes a lot of sense that you would like to branch out and begin a life. It may be beneficial to reach out to your caseworker about the limitations of your foster care/custodial situation. If you’d like to go over what’s going on in depth, or if you’d like to explore other options that you may have available to you, please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-800-RUNAWAY. You can also chat us by clicking on the “CHAT” button on top of our homepage. We’re open 24/7 and here to listen and support you in any way we can.

Stay safe,
NRS

[Guest]

14 and texas

Hello Im 14 going to be 15 in novemeber im writing this because i want to go live with my momma i live in texas and planning on running away to go live with her. this weekend was expose to be hers because of visitation and my dad thought my mom was doing drugs which she wAsnt and now he wont let me see her. my dad mentally and sometimes physically abusive towards me. my dad and i get into a fight everysingle day because he gets mad either at my mom or literally nothing. its just my dad and i at my house because im the youngest. ive had sex before and my dad found out he started calling me a whore and a slut and a hoe at age 13-14. my dad calls me names all the time he calls me a piece of ******** and how im gonna be a methhead and everything like that and my momma never calls me that stuff her and i never argue its always a nice day with her. i just need someone else responce to this please get back to me as soon as possible and tell me what i should do

[ccsmod15]

Hello,

You mentioned some things that raise concern for your safety and well-being. If any harm or abuse is happening at home, you have the right to report it. We are not experts on the issue, but generally once it's been reported, social services will either decide whether or not to take the case and further investigate. If they do take the case, they will send out someone from child protective services to do an investigation (interviewing people in the household) and from there they will decide the level of danger within the household. It generally ranges from no danger (the youth stays in the home, some services are given, and the case is closed), moderate danger (they will provide family services with possible temporary displacement) and high danger (they will remove the youth from the home and offer certain services).If you feel like this is an option you want to explore, you may find this website helpful: https://www.childhelp.org/child-abuse/. We can also help you to file a report if that’s the route you are considering.

18 years old is generally the age that an individual may leave home without permission from their parent or legal guardian. We are not legal experts here but we can speak in general terms. If you are under 18 and leave home without permission, your parent/guardian may file a runaway report with the police. What actions the police take once you are filed as a runaway can vary a lot from state to state and even city to city so we cannot predict exactly what would happen in your case. Generally speaking, if you encounter a police officer while reported as a runaway, you will likely be returned home. However, in that case there may be services (family counseling, etc.) available to you as a youth in crisis/runaway but again, police procedures related to offering those services can be different based on your location or the details of your situation. Another thing to consider is that while running away is not a crime, a legal adult who allows you to stay with them may be putting themselves at risk for being charged with harboring a runaway. One way to find out the laws in your area is to call your local police and ask what their policies are regarding runaway youth.

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

[Guest]

I’m 15 and trying to help my trans bf, he is in an extremely toxic house hold who is verbally abused him and use to be physically abusive too. We’ve looked at emancipation and ways to remove him from his house. I’m kinda lost and no longer know what to do. Ik it may be selfish to put myself in his situation but I’m just trying to help and look for answers.

[ccsmod15]

Hi there,

Thank you so much for reaching out to NRS today. We know it can be a scary thing to do and take a lot of courage. We are so sorry to hear about what your boyfriend is going through and glad that he has you supporting him through this.

You mention he is going through abuse. One option in this case would be to report the abuse. If you do decide to report the abuse, or give him the option to report it, there would be an investigation opened by CPS in your state. One way to do this is by reaching out to Child Help USA at 1-800-422-4453 or www.childhelp.org may help to get a better understanding of what may happen before and after a report is made. However, we can also help guide you through that process if you reach out over the phone at 1-800-796-2929 or through livechat at 1800runaway.org. Either way we are available 24/7.

You also mention emancipation. Depending on the state you are in, usually emancipation requires parental approval and is only available when the youth turns 16. It is a long process, but we are happy to point you to legal resources in your area to answer more questions because we are not legal experts here at NRS.

Lastly, we are here to talk through this situation with you in more depth and potentially help provide more resources. As mentioned, you can reach out 24/7 through livechat or call.

Best of luck and stay strong,
NRS

[Guest]

I want/need to get away from my mother i have ran away recently but i was found my father isn't in my life so i don't have many choices i am 14 years of age and i don't want to be put in a foster home but i cant stay here.

[ccsmod16]

Hi,
thanks for reaching out; we are glad that you did. It sounds like you are going through something really hard at home and you want to get away from your mother. It's understandable to want to do that and we work best when we can have a conversation with people. We really do what to help you discover what your options are and to listen to you about what you're going through, so we hope you will reach out to our live services.
You can chat us through this website or call us at 1-800-RUNAWAY. We truly hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
NRS