Want to see my siblings

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jennystrawberry

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Hi, I'm a tennager and live on my own, work two jobs but am still very poor. I left home after I turned 18. There's a lot of family history, but essentially my parents messily divorced when I was younger, but it dragged on for many years after that. My dad remarried and with the new mom came a new set of rules. All of a sudden there were cameras in the house, lack of trust, military-like regimens and just all around craziness. There have been some instances of my father slapping my sister and brother around, but for some reason he never did anything like that to me, except for one instance a very long time ago. He's always been an angry man.

Anyway I have not been allowed to come visit my brother and sister at the house since then, save for one time, but I don't even remember the circumstances. Oh yes, that was before I contacted my mother, whom I hadn't seen for three years. After my father found out I was letting my mother come to visit my apartment, which is in a different part of the city, he said I was no longer allowed to visit. I haven't seen my mother now in over eight months. Still, I haven't been able to visit my siblings in over a year. My dad has threatened to call the police etc. if I dare to come visit, but can they really do anything? I haven't done anything! I have never tried to do anything until now!

I want to find some way to get visitation with my siblings. They aren't even allowed out of the house, they can't see any friends. If they can visit me for just a few days a week I can let them go outside and see friends etc., as well as hang out with me. My ultimate goal would of course be to get them out of there, but my brother will be an adult soon. My sister however is still a younger teenager. Can she last several more years in that dungeon?

My parents (dad and stepmother) also force us to take antidepressants and punish us with revoked privileges if we refuse. This is one reason I ran away. My dad refused to let me go to kung fu class when I refused to take the pills. So I took them, but since I ran away I've weaned myself off them and have been better ever since. My dad always fed me crap about me being mentally insane or crazy or whatever, just like my mother he told me. I was very insecure about it and asked friends, bosses, teachers, everyone. No one thinks I'm crazy except my dad, and I'm afraid he's telling that to my brother and sister, in fact I know he is, since my sister tells me about it. My step mother is cruel about it as well.

As I said, my ultimate goal would be to get them out of there. But is it wise to go full speed ahead like that? Perhaps it's more prudent to go with baby steps and try visitation. I've never been to court, but I know it's expensive. My two jobs can barely support me. How can I go about this? Not seeing my siblings is killing all three of us.

Help!
 
Did you have a question?
 
Well, yes. How do I go about getting visitation? Will it cost lots of money? And is it possible to go even further and possibly get my siblings out of my dad's house, possibly living with foster parents or myself. I really don't know what the options are, I'm brand friggin new here!
 
Some states do have statutes that allow siblings to petition for visitation. The following link has some information. I listed the states, but there is more information for each state in the link. You can also try contacting your state's court or family law website.

http://www.divorcesource.com/research/dl/visitation/97may85.shtml

III. SIBLINGS SEPARATED BY DIVORCE (DIVIDED CUSTODY) OR BY REMARRIAGE AND DIVORCE OF A NATURAL PARENT

The cases decided under 42 U.S.C. 1983 are inapplicable when the parents refuse to allow a minor child to associate with an adult sibling, when parents split up siblings by divided custody, or when half-siblings are separated due to the breakup of a second marriage. In these circumstances, the sibling must petition the court for sibling visitation pursuant to a statute or on the basis of a common-law right to sibling visitation.

A. Sibling Visitation Under a Statute

Eight states have enacted specific legislation that allows sibling visitation after divorce or when the siblings are separated by foster care:
Arkansas
California
Illinois
Louisiana
Maryland
Nevada
New Jersey
New York
Other states have statutes that, while not specifying siblings, allow "interested parties" with a "significant relationship" or a "person biologically related" to petition for visitation. Siblings may be considered within this classification. (Excluded from this list are statutes that provide visitation for persons with a significant relationship akin to a parent-child relationship.)
Alaska
Connecticut
Hawaii
Maine
Michigan
Ohio
Virginia
Washington
 
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