Runaway Helpline is free to call or text on 116 000. You can call or text us in confidence. We will always listen to you. We will never judge. You can talk to us if you are thinking of running away or if you have already left home.

You might be feeling that nobody is listening to you or taking you seriously. Maybe you are feeling scared or sad and you don’t know what to do. We can help by listening and talking things through with you. We can go through your options and help you decide what to do next.

We can help you in practical ways too. You may decide to send a message home or to your family, social worker or support worker and we can help you to do this or you may decide that you want to talk directly to the police, social services or to a family member or carer. We can help by setting up a Three Way Call, so you can talk to them while we stay on the line, but your call can’t be traced. Making contact in these ways means you stay in control.

We can help by making sure your voice is heard. When you are over 18, you can usually choose where you want to live but if you are under 18 and it’s safe for you at home, that is where you are expected to stay. But being safe isn’t always the same thing as being happy and sometimes you can be safe because nobody is hurting or abusing you in a physical way, but unhappy because people are being mean to you in other ways, or because of arguments between you and other people at home or between the people you live with. In situations like that, it isn’t always easy to talk about what’s happening. Everyone goes through times when they are unhappy but if you feel unhappy and sad all the time at home, and it’s making you want to run away, then it’s important to talk to someone about things. It’s important that you know there are people and services out there that can help.