If you have run away, you probably believed that running away would help with a problem you had, or a situation you were experiencing.
At first, being away from people you care about and places you know probably won’t be too bad, if you have somewhere to stay, are warm and safe and have money to buy food.
But the longer you are away, the harder being it can become.
You will probably experience being cold and hungry and have feelings of being lonely and scared. You might find yourself doing things you wouldn’t normally do, or things you really don’t want to do.
If you have run away, your family, friends and others who know and care about you will worry about you and they may have reported you as missing to the Police.
If you have been reported to the Police, the Police will be doing everything they can to try and find you.
It is important that you try and make contact with someone you trust to let them know that you are ok. If you are not ok, tell them where you are, so that someone can come and get you and take you to somewhere safe.
If you don’t want to be found or taken back to where you have runaway from, talking with an adult you trust about how you feel, can still help. By talking through your problems or situation you might come up with a solution or it could help you to get the support you need.
If you feel unsafe, scared or worried, then please call the police on 101 or 999 and tell them you need help. If you are unable to do this you could ask an adult, such as a train conductor or bus driver to phone them for you, or if you can, walk into a Police station or up to a Police Officer and tell them you have run away. They will help you.
Remember its ok to ask for help, and its ok to go back, just because you ran away doesn’t mean that you have to stay away!