Every 18 minutes someone in Australia goes missing. That's 30,000 people every year. Help
Woman's Day give the families left behind the one gift they pray for each Christmas — the chance to see their loved ones again or at least know they are safe.
A simple email or call from a friend or loved one you haven't seen for a few weeks is always a nice surprise. But for the thousands of families whose relatives go missing each year, a short email could make all the difference between a happy Christmas and one fraught with pain and worry.
Sarah Wayland, a social worker with the Australian Federal Police's National Missing Persons Coordination Centre (NMPCC) in Canberra, sees the impact a missing loved one has on a family every day.
"There's such pain and unresolved grief in relation to ambiguous loss. Living daily with the 'not knowing' causes unimaginable heartache for so many families."
Aware of the joy that a card or phone call can bring to people whose loved ones have vanished,
Woman's Day is launching the Make Contact Appeal to help reunite families.
"Whether it's the first or 20th Christmas, just knowing someone's missing from the table, or won't be around to unwrap a gift, can be a painful process," says Sarah.
"That pain is enormous for families with other children at Christmas. Many struggle to move forward while not wanting to forget the memory of a relative who is missing."
In 99.5 per cent of cases in Australia, the missing person is found safe and well, mostly within a week of going missing. But there are still 1600 cases where individuals are missing long-term, including people with mental-health issues and elderly people with dementia, who perhaps don't even know that they have been reported as missing.
The
Woman's Day Make Contact Appeal — launched in conjunction with the Federal Police and NMPCC — provides a confidential forum where people who have gone missing can let their families know they're safe this Christmas. It's also hoped others with information about missing people will come forward and help fill in the gaps.
Using our confidential email address —
makecontact@acpmagazines.com.au — anyone can contact
Woman's Day to tell us they're alive and well. Nobody has to reveal their whereabouts, or be reunited if they don't want to. A single email will allow us to pass on information to the NMPCC, and staff there will contact families on behalf of the missing individual.
"Some missing people don't want to be found," explains Sarah, and she believes one of this campaign's
strengths is the fact that people can pass on information anonymously.
"It's important that people realise they won't be in trouble for passing on information which might help families find missing loved ones," she says.
The appeal follows the NMPCC's recent launch of a kit called
Supporting Those Who Are Left Behind, a resource that helps professionals, such as police social workers and counsellors, understand the unique and complex issues facing families dealing with ambiguous loss.
For anyone who feels uncomfortable making direct contact with their relatives, or speaking to the police about the whereabouts of a missing person, this campaign is a safe way of getting in touch.
How to make contact
To anonymously provide
Woman's Day and the NMPCC with information about a missing person, fill in this
confidential form or email us at
makecontact@acpmagazines.com.au
You do not have to include your name or contact details. However, if you are happy to be contacted by the Federal Police in relation to the information you provide, please include a contact number.
Your email will be passed on to the Federal Police so that the family of the missing person can be given any relevant information.
Alternatively, you could call the NMPCC's hotline on 1800 000 634 to get back in contact.
Remember, a quick email could ease a family's troubled hearts this Christmas.
