About Us » Our Purpose

Missed works to reframe missing persons as a community issue

Our work encourages the collaborative efforts of media, government, the corporate sector, emergency services and the public. We harness the people power exemplified by Dan Come Home to humanise missing people and alleviate the financial, emotional and psychological impact on their loved ones.

unhelpful assumptions

Australian research conducted in 2021 found 72% of news commentary on missing persons comes from police. But with limited resources, formulaic risk assessments, varying experience and competing priorities, the issue is too broad and complex to be confined within police. The simplistic search-find narrative perpetuated through the media doesn’t help anyone.

We believe every missing person deserves to be looked for, and each of their loved ones deserves to be cared for.

we know that

When someone disappears, time is of the essence

It’s a scenario no one’s ever prepared for, and traumatised people can’t process a lot of information. This is the premise behind our foundation project – The Missing Persons Guide – a simple, practical guide of what to do when someone goes missing. The Guide expedites critical processes, minimising time wastage when efficiency matters most.

Longer term

It’s important to recognise the magnitude of the impact on families and friends

Once all investigative avenues have been exhausted, it’s critical families know and feel that their loved one isn’t forgotten, and that the community still cares. Through our awareness campaigns, we’re broadening the narrative of missing persons to include the lived experiences and the unmet needs of the people left behind.

Education

Bringing ambiguous loss into the vernacular

Loss is difficult to talk about, let alone an uncertain loss, but social isolation only compounds grief. We’ve been educating the public on the scale of this issue and this unique form of grief to ensure Australians are better equipped to support those with a missing loved one.

Partnerships

We recognise the importance of establishing partnerships

The challenges faced by families of missing loved ones vary greatly and we understand the power of partnering with different businesses to lessen the practical impact on those searching for them.