Volunteers

Some people have an inexplicably keen interest in missing persons cases and may wish to take advantage of your vulnerability. We strongly advise you don’t entrust any significant aspects of the search to a person/s unknown to you.

Delegate

Lots of people want to help, but some have specialised skills (e.g. design, writing etc). Use volunteers wisely so that specialised volunteers don’t burn out.

Here’s some direction to give those who want to help:

• Share the poster across social media (e.g. ask celebrities to share) – public attention keeps pressure on police and maintains media interest.
• Bring food, run errands.
• Door knock in the area they were last seen and areas of significance (e.g. favourite park).
• Print and display posters (Officeworks and local MPs can print for free). To find your closest, see: Officeworks and Members of Parliament
• Contact hospitals, public transport, crisis accommodation, homelessness services, etc., asking recipients to forward it on to their networks and display the poster. See: Contacts
• Ask people to update their email signature to include information about your missing loved one. See: WiseStamp

When trusted people suggest new ideas about how to expand the campaign, encourage them to lead/execute. You will have limited time and energy, so the more people who can help, the better.

Keeping your volunteers in the loop will help maintain momentum and promote sharing the load. Social media (especially WhatsApp) can be an efficient way to do this.

Try not to be disheartened when people don’t stick to a commitment. As genuine as a close friend or volunteer’s desire to help is, their world hasn’t stopped like yours has.