In 2011, Daniel O’Keeffe’s disappearance prompted his sister Loren to leave her job as an online communications advisor to establish what became the biggest campaign of its kind in the world.  Dan Come Home encompassed regular media coverage, nationwide billboards, t-shirts, celebrity shout-outs, bumper stickers, fun runs and an unprecedented social media following.

The search for Dan highlighted significant gaps in support for those left behind. Families of other missing loved ones reached out seeking advice and assistance, which led Loren to establish the Missing Persons Advocacy Network (MPAN) in 2013. Thanks to a World of Difference grant from Vodafone, the foundation project, a step-by-step guide for what to do when someone disappears (missingpersonsguide.com), was launched that November and has since been used by over 125,000 people in over 190 countries.

Since then, Missed’s objective of creating awareness for missing individuals has broadened to include awareness for the associated issues, and our focus on providing practical support has expanded to include emotional support.

Aware of the association between missing persons and police and crime – and the challenge that presents in terms of appealing to donors – our energies were initially focused on changing perceptions and garnering pro bono support to facilitate those efforts.

Over the first few years, we addressed the over-simplistic search-find narrative by bringing this issue outside of the police poster confines and into the mainstream through a variety of creative and innovative initiatives, like The Unmissables. As well as equipping families with practical tools and opportunities, we humanised missing people, prompting Australians to recognise that any family can find themselves in this predicament, and generated empathy for both those who disappear and those who are left behind.

Having started that conversation and created a space for this cause in this fairly crowded sector, we then began broadening the narrative through initiatives like Missed Birthdays and working to attract the financial backing required to do this work.

In 2019, Missed was welcomed into the philanthropic arena so crucial for small unfunded charities, by way of The Funding Network pitch night. With a 6-minute pitch, we raised $90,000 which allowed us to solidify a platform for families to share their lived experiences, and to get specialised support for the unique and continual loss that they live with. This funding lead to the creation of both The Hope Narratives and the Ambiguous Loss Masterclass.