For those living in relatively comfortable and secure circumstances, which will probably include many Independent readers, it will surely come as a surprise, if not a shock, to learn that as many as 70,000 children go missing every year. This appalling loss leaves half a million family members and friends confused and bereft. The greater proportion of those who disappear are teenagers, but many are younger, and practically all will be highly vulnerable, especially in the first days after their disappearance. They are at risk of harm, exploitation and homelessness and in urgent need of protection.
For many different reasons, the incidence of missing children has remained largely hidden from view. Both the children and their loved ones find it nigh impossible to reconnect, even if the will is there. It is to highlight this neglected issue and try to change what often seems a hopeless situation for the better that The Independent has chosen Missing People, and specifically its SafeCall project, for its Christmas appeal this year. Missing People is the only charity dedicated to reconnecting missing people with their loved ones, and SafeCall is designed to provide a way of reaching, if not every single missing child, then a far greater proportion than the one in four that Missing People reaches at present.
The uniqueness of SafeCall is that it has been devised with input from young people. Missing children will be offered protection and help in ways that are designed to feel open, accessible and above all safe to them, with their anonymity guaranteed. The intention is that tailored support should be available 24/7, whether through a WhatsApp channel, a chatbot, or a website setting out advice geared to young people in their situation.
Of course, such an open and all-round service costs, with the total for launching and running it for a year estimated at more than £600,000, of which The Independent’s appeal is hoping to raise £165,000. But that total should not be intimidating. Only £10 can help a missing child find a safe place to go; £30 can provide overnight advice, with £100 funding one helpline shift, which means trained staff are on call whenever a young person needs to get in touch. That could be at any hour of the day or night, with such round-the-clock availability being crucial to SafeCall’s success.
As we report, our appeal has the backing of Dame Esther Rantzen, whose pioneering Childline made it possible for children to seek help in safety and anonymity. At the time, making it possible for a child to seek help via a free phone line and taking what they said seriously was a big departure, which can be seen as opening the way for a more targeted service, such as SafeCall, designed for children who have gone missing.
Also endorsing our appeal is the actor, broadcaster and mental health campaigner, Sir Stephen Fry, who understands exactly why someone might choose to disappear, having himself done so 30 years ago, to the consternation of his loved ones and fans. As well as welcoming The Independent’s appeal to help the tens of thousands of children and young people reported missing each year, he stresses that SafeCall can create a legacy – providing help “wherever young people need it and no matter what”.
At least as important as celebrity support is the backing of the one-time missing children themselves. Jade Knight, now 23 and an ambassador for Missing People, credits the charity with saving her life, after she went missing more than 50 times as a child. SafeCall, she says, is designed to support anyone who feels they “just want to disappear”.
As our report acknowledges, not all stories end as happily as Jade’s. While many missing children are found quickly, others may never return, to the distress of families who are left agonising about what might have happened. Moreover, on average, one missing child dies every week.
At The Independent, we know that there are many appeals to your generosity at this time of year. But the plight of missing children is a neglected cause that deserves both far more public attention than it currently receives and the possibility of the sort of practical help that SafeCall promises to provide. This time last year, your remarkable response to our appeal for the Brick By Brick partnership with Refuge was such that it funded two more safe houses for women and children escaping domestic abuse. We dare to hope for a similarly generous response to this year’s appeal.
