|
According to the FBI there are approximately 109,968 Missing Persons reported in the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database today. Our research shows another hidden population of lost and missing persons: 'The Missing, Missing', a phrase coined by founder Libba Phillips in 1999 the year her sister Ashley disappeared and Outpost for Hope was created. A Missing, Missing person is a child or adult who is lost but unaccounted for in any official missing persons database such as the National Crime Information Center or The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
A common example of a missing, missing person may be someone who is mentally ill and homeless who is not listed as missing in any law enforcement database. This population also includes the most vulnerable of our society; The Kids Off The Grid , unaccounted for children who are easy targets for human trafficking, exploitation and harm. Our educational tool below, Navigating The Lost Highway, shows the eleven outcomes Outpost for Hope has identified for 'Missing, Missing' Persons. With your help, we can find more hopeful resolutions.
|
|
How can someone who is lost be unreported as missing? One common situation is when someone disappears but his/her
family is unsuccessful in obtaining an official missing persons report
by law enforcement. The families who contact us say that the stigma of addiction and mental illness sometimes prevents a loved one's disappearance from being taken seriously. Other 'missing, missing' persons may be chronically homeless and estranged from family or have no family that cares to report him or her as missing. They often end up unaccounted for in any official database.
Unfortunately, there are serious consequences that can occur as a result of being unlisted as missing such as a person becoming a victim of human trafficking and/or exploitation and abuse. Outpost for
Hope has identified at least 11 outcomes for unreported missing persons.
We are searching for agency partners who can help us treat this social epidemic as we continue to provide guidance to families who encounter obstacles to reporting a lost loved one as missing and what to do when he/she is located. We also educate social service and law enforcement agencies who may interact with these unaccounted for lost ones in jails, on the streets, in shelters and in morgues in an effort to prevent these problems from occurring in the first place.
"Missing and unidentified persons represent, in the most poignant sense, lost dreams and hopes. My intention is to bring resolution and justice to all missing and undentified persons everywhere by elevating public awareness. The 'missing, missing' belong to all of us in the same sense that my sister Ashley belongs to me." - Libba Phillips, 2005
Find out how, with your help, we are making a difference...
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
Outpost For Hope on 
