Bring them home for Christmas
Christmas is a time of year we associate with family. Adverts depict families cosily gathered around log fires, eating turkey and exchanging presents. For some, however, Christmas is a time of heartbreak.
In the U.K an estimated 250,000 men, women, and children go missing each year. Unless you’ve experienced this tragedy, it’s difficult to imagine the anguish suffered when someone in your family disappears without trace or explanation. The worry and uncertainty must be overwhelming.
This year the UK charity Missing People has launched a Christmas appeal called ‘Home for Christmas’. The campaign aims to fundraise and raise awareness with the ultimate goal being to find missing people and reunite them with their families for the festive period.
The Missing People’s Charity works in various capacities. They facilitate direct searches for the missing by organising search parties and liasing with authorities such as social services and the police. The charity also organises support for the families of missing people and hosts ‘Welcome Back’ interviews that enable those who have been missing to talk through their experiences, their feelings and any issues that may have led them to leave. The charity recruits volunteers and trains them for this purpose and operates on a professional basis.
Succeeding in finding missing people depends largely on raising awareness. Missing People is indebted to volunteers devoted to organising television and radio announcements and the distribution of flyers. Many contribute to this cause by hosting fundraising events and there have been many creative ideas such as greetings card stalls, carolling and Santa runs.
The website missingpeople.org.uk is the place to go for information and it is kept updated with photographs and details of missing persons so you can keep a look out. Just by being vigilant you could make an astounding difference and enable a family to be reunited this Christmas.
Delia Stanway
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- Bring them home for Christmas - December 21, 2014