Trying to see if I have a case here
I read the rules and I’m not sure whether or not this falls under “this is not the place to make a report” so I’m sorry if it does, I’m trying to see if I might be able to make a report on my own behalf, but the prospect of actually calling scares me because I don’t want them to act without my permission first, and I haven’t decided what I want to do yet.
So, to the situation I’m in. I, 16f, (I live in Florida if that makes any difference) was living with my aunt after running from my grandmother’s house due to the psychological abuse I endured there. I lived with my aunt for 6 months before she kicked me out because she couldn’t handle me anymore (I have mental health issues she found weird and icky, never once did I ever do, say, or even think anything that might have threatened her, her husband’s, or her childrens’ safety.) So she kicked me out, and now I live in an efficiency. She was paying all of the rent until around two months ago. Now she’s making me pay 350 of the rent, which is quite frankly insulting since she’s the one who pushed me to run from my grandmother and she’s the one who chose to take me in despite knowing about my struggles, then she kicks me out when she decides she doesn’t want to deal with them anymore and makes me pay for it? Yeah, I’m feeling pretty insulted and offended.
My father has custody of me. I see him maybe once every couple of months, though recently it’s been more like 3 times a year. We call occasionally, maybe once every one or two weeks. He gets financial aid for “taking care of me” which I have seen exactly 16 dollars of in the past 6-7 years because he bought me some crackers and a pomegranate. My father has been committing fraud(?) in order to claim that I’m still dependent on him, such as making me write the wrong address on documents and (I’m pretty sure) falsifying records to claim that he still needs money to take care of me.
My aunt also committed fraud multiple times in helping him forge papers to claim said money, and lied to my landlord. They all think I’m 18.
I’m wondering as well what the procedures are once a child is taken (if I even qualify) because the only relatives I have that could take me are 1. My grandparents who I ran from (I cannot live with them. I would not survive it.) 2. Their son who lives in Alabama and treats his kids even worse than my grandmother treated me, 3. My dad’s brother in Orlando who hates my guts, or 4. Some relative in Illinois I’ve heard of but have never met.
The only people I’d ever be willing to go with are my friend and their mother who have offered me a place to stay if I need it and said they’d be more than happy to welcome me in for as long as I need (it’s truly baffling to me how family can have so little regard for one as a human being while someone who have little to no connection to can love and care for you more than they ever have) but I don’t know if or how I’d be able to go with them. I’m unwilling to go into foster care because I’d have to leave my job and school, and I fear what may happen to me in the system. I’m starting to feel unsafe in my own home as well because I’ve been told by multiple people that my landlord looks at me weirdly and that I should be careful around him. I don’t feel comfortable anymore knowing he has a key to where I sleep.
Sorry for the rambling— do any of you know if I could make this work? I’m so angry and hurt by my family, and they continue to lord this over my head as if I owe them— I just want to get away to someone I trust.