I felt at home, even in the interview. We focused on how
to support missing people knowing that going missing is a cry for help; a
desperate moment; a difficult choice and that being missing makes people very
vulnerable. I felt I had experience to bring from 10 years at the central
London Samaritans (where we had the luxury of 400 volunteers).
I'm not sure the carpets have changed here though we have
more space now. Sadly some of the posters of missing people haven’t changed
either. They’ve been reprinted but the photos, of course, are the same. This is
the tragedy of missing people. Minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years of
lost time, lost conversations, lost loves, lost experiences, families grown up,
babies born, people died, birthdays come and gone.
And so a call from a missing person is special. It’s a
unique opportunity to reconnect, to reach out in a crisis, to pass a message
home.
We still pore over rotas but 116 000 is open and is there
round the clock. We’ve got a bigger team now and more volunteers; (more than
halfway to the 400 I worked with previously). I often drive past the
office at night and see the lights glow, and I feel glad. I'd like to describe
it as a beacon but that would be a tad grand... it looks like any ordinary
office. A journalist once described this place as 'dusty offices above a
supermarket on the Upper Richmond Road'. Cars and lorries stream past, sirens
wail outside sometimes unsettling people who call. But this is a warm place and an incredible
space. The lights are on 24/7 and we're there to take a call, reply to an
email, reply to a text message, send out a poster. And we don't need reminding
what a difference this could make.
We’ve moved on too in many ways; we’re out and about in
communities across the UK; we’ve had the privilege of bringing families
together in Scotland, in Yorkshire, in the West Midlands and in London and we run
Join The Search Days to engage the public with our work. We’ve very nearly
achieved new legislation that will provide families who presume that their
loved one has died with the ability to settle their affairs – to carry out
their last wishes – and we’ve shared our expertise to support people with
online documents.
The heart of this charity is in the same place. We’ve
held true to the passion of our founders Mary Asprey and Janet Newman. We’re heavily
involved in supporting families and there for missing people, children, young
people and adults. The aim is to maintain our creativity and passion – to
change as we need to, but to hold onto our heart.
But there are things we don't know – we may not know when
we haven't helped. ‘Missing’ is
sometimes a very dark world. Families are tormented with dark thoughts and
often dark realities. We may not have the words to help families talk through
these things; to deal with the trauma.
A member of staff told me that she rang a health helpline
recently, worried about her mum. She described how she felt when she picked up
the phone - like a ball of worry and sadness. The person on the end of the line
was warm, supportive, informative but didn't let the feelings out. It was
helpful but she won't be calling again. I'd like us to be able to have and hold
the most difficult conversation if that's what is wanted. I’d like us to be able
to support young people in their language and at their pace. We respond quickly
to texts but ‘real time’ is their world. I'd like us to be able to disseminate
information about people who are missing across social media and beyond into
the palms of hands at the touch of a button. I'd like us to mobilise people
across the country who care about missing people and bring them under Missing
People's wing. I'd like us to find more people more quickly, and when people
are lost, I’d like them to know we are here.
I believe we are guardians of this charity; ensuring that
we are a lifeline when someone disappears now and for the long run. I lost my
child on a beach a few years ago. When I realised he was gone, my legs caved in
below me. I almost lost my vision. I can barely talk about it even now and he
was found in 10 minutes.
I've walked up and down the stairs to Missing People many
times. Sometimes I'm two steps at a time, sometimes I take the lift, but I
always find it hard to go home. I’ve been asked to lead us into this 20th
anniversary year and I will always do my best to help this charity to be there
for families and for people who are missing, because you never know when you
might need us. From now on I'll be taking the stairs two at a time.
By Missing People’s newly appointed Chief Executive Jo
Youle,
who leads the charity after ten years of service
who leads the charity after ten years of service
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