Opinion: We must save the Missing Persons Helpline

22 March 2005 1 min read Lisa Harker

It's difficult to imagine the anguish that a family must go through when a child goes missing. Services provided by the National Missing Persons Helpline are surely vital at such times: offering support, helping to generate publicity and being a neutral contact point which can lead to children who have run away from home being reunited with their families.

So news that the National Missing Persons Helpline is in financial difficulties is deeply troubling. The organisation depends on charitable donations and currently faces a shortfall which threatens its future.

Over the last few weeks it has been warning that it must find more money by the end of this month if it is to maintain its invaluable services.

A similar story is unfolding in Ireland where it has recently been announced that a missing persons helpline run by Victim Support will close at the end of March. This is in light of the Irish Government's announcement that a new Commission for the Support of Victims of Crime is to be established, leaving the helpline's future in question.

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