Not knowing is like living in darkness
To coincide with Missing Person’s Week, Police Commissioner, Andrew Scipione and Police Minister, Tony Kelly, have unveiled a statewide outdoor advertising campaign promoting missing persons cases.
This year’s National Missing Persons Week focuses upon dementia and memory loss with the theme ‘Not knowing is like living in darkness’, which reflects the experience of those left behind.
Mr Kelly sees the link between memory loss and missing persons as a growing concern.
“Every year in NSW almost 11,000 people will be reported missing to Police with almost 10% experiencing a dementia related illness. As Australia’s population ages, the issue of people with dementia or memory loss as a group at risk of going missing will become an increasing concern,” he said.
“The first iteration of the outdoor campaign focuses upon Leslie Hicks, an 81 year old man with dementia who went missing in March 2008,” Commissioner Scipione said.
“The advertisements are a very powerful tool to seek valuable community information and help us locate missing people. The Outdoor Media Association has offered to promote the case of Leslie Hicks using a massive M4 billboard, over 40 digital Sydney Airport panels, more than 100 bus shelter and outdoor panels, and digital panels throughout shopping centres.
“The advertising will be ongoing, promoting various cases to ensure hundreds of thousands of people are aware of missing person’s cases”.
New South Wales (NSW) Police Force and Alzheimer’s Australia NSW will relaunch the Safely Home Program throughout the week.
The program offers a registration and bracelet service to help ensure missing persons with dementia return safely home through quick and accurate identification.
The chief executive officer of Alzheimer’s Australia NSW, John Watkins said, “Safely Home is a great program that provides peace of mind to people living with dementia and their families and carers.
“Wandering is common among people with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia and can be quite scary for people living with the illness and their families. Safely Home minimises the danger wandering can pose”.
Sarah Wayland, Coordinator of the Families and Friends of Missing Persons Unit, deals with the impact upon families and friends of those who go missing daily.
“The stress of not knowing what has happened to someone can cause sleeplessness, affect work performance and lead to family tensions as each person deals with the disappearance in different ways. We help people to develop strategies to cope with their unresolved loss”.
