The following paragraphs contain mentions of abuse, flood (w/ pictures), and other potentially triggering topics. Please proceed with caution.

Each one of us has written up our own statements to summarize our situations! To learn more about what we're going through, feel free to read through what we've said.

Kryn's Statement

The last year of my life has been a neverending hell, and my family, especially my abusive father, has had a lot to do with it.

Back in May of 2023, I made an attempt to run away to live with a friend to escape toxic living conditions with my family. My father had threatened to cut me off from my job, and on top of his treatment, I couldn't take it anymore; I needed a safer place to live.

Sadly, my friend could no longer house me past August, sending me back to my family in September. They had no open bedrooms for me, as both were fully occupied; this has landed me in the corner of the living room, only a tent over my bed to resemble anything close to a room.

(Pictured: My "living space" from January of this year. My dad had just trashed it while I was in the middle of cleaning. I am not allowed to occupy anywhere outside of this little corner.)

I don't have privacy, and don't feel as though I can come out of the tent until I'm alone. I am only allowed the space in the corner of the living room, and a small table for my computer; I am not allowed to have most of my belongings with me whatsoever. I can hear everything in the room at all times and they can hear me, too; it's completely draining my mental health.

I sought help, but absolutely nothing has come from it because I cannot have true privacy to take calls, nor can I drive to appointments myself or get a ride. In the end, there's nothing left for me here, and staying near & with my family is only holding me back and allowing me to stagnate.

I need time far, far away from them to heal, especially after these past seven months. The environment they create is toxic, and especially hostile around my father. Lately, things have been getting worse, my father giving me even less alone time and my mother doing absolutely nothing to stop it, as well as being intrusive of my almost non-existent privacy.

My family has been a wreck for my entire life; they're dysfunctional, constantly argued around me when I was young, and have caused me immeasurable mental harm. I'm done with it.

I'd just like a normal, less stressful life with my partner and friend, a safe place to call our own. I want to heal, and I want them to heal, too.

Evren's Statement

I am not comfortable sharing all of my story to the public, nor my face for safety reasons; if my family found this, it could endanger me. But I need help to get out of here regardless; I'm trapped, and this is my only way out.

Living with my family is a nightmare. They have been abusive & neglectful towards me, and the stress of living with them has caused me debilitating pain. The environment they create is hostile, toxic, and makes me feel unsafe.

Most of them are right-leaning or conservative, forcing me to stay closeted. Hiding my LGBTQ+ identity causes me distress and dysphoria, and adds to the stress causing me so much pain. The neglect alone made searching for medical help hard, but the awful insurance I'm stuck with makes it near impossible.

I want to get out of here, and be free of the abuse; I want to live with my partner and build a better life with them, and to help get my friend out of their home as well. I haven't been given the chance to heal properly, and this is the only way I can do so.

Bacon/Avery's Statement

The past few months of my home life have been a near-constant struggle. No matter how hard I try, nothing has been improving; everything has stayed the same, and that's the worst part.

Being around my family has always been incredibly overwhelming for me. It's a stressful, unpredictable environment; on top of the instability and dysfunction in my household, there are also constant arguments & yelling over the smallest, most ridiculous things. It never ends, leaving me no time to myself to relax.

They don't take my mental health seriously, telling me to get over my problems & that it isn't a big deal. No matter how clearly I'm struggling, it's brushed off as laziness rather than a sign I'm suffering. I try to help the best I can, but it's draining the life out of me. As such, I hide in my room all day; being around my family exhausts me so badly that I almost always break down because of them.

In July 2023, a storm hit our town, flooding our home. I lost so many of my belongings, and the way the situation was handled caused even more instability in my home life. We couldn't stay in our home, we haven't been able to get it back, and things have just been getting worse since the flood. Everyone has been on edge since, and the conflicts have gotten so much worse.

(Pictured: My flooded kitchen from my old house.)

The incident and its aftermath has caused a rapid decline in my mental health; I truly don't feel like I have a second to myself.

I can't function like this, and am in desperate need of a way out.

Escaping this situation will bring me an opportunity to finally heal and move on with my life, rather than stay stuck rotting in my room completely devoid of hope.