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%50% off Everything! You'll never pay so little tor so m iS i. For the1 next wvj weeks only, take 5 0% o ff E ve ryth ing in the store! Our huge w inter blow out sale in on now. Pick up designer labels at rock bottom prices. Don't miss out! B y Consignm ent b L iao * R tu k Ladk* Wear ffXb lt< T r a f a t g ir R d .- , · . · - 33H-3474 ^ focus j r ^ FOURTH LINE AUTO G O O D Y E A R For A ll Your Car's Needs Drive Clean Emission Testing Government Safety Inspection Tune-Ups · Brakes · Exhaust · Cooling Systems CAA Approved Shop Official Media Sponsor SDonsor 559 Speers Road (905) 842-3001 Editor: Wilma Biokhuis Phone: 905-845-3824 (ext. 250) Fax: 905-337-5567 e-mail: blokhuis@haltonsearch.com W I I >NI IS I ). V) I I I * » l U . \K V a 2 ( X )2 · I *. 'C l Finding missing children By Wilma Biokhuis HEAVER FOCUS EDITOR "Child Find found my grandson." With these few words, Shirley Grant of Toronto gratefully accepted her Certificate of Appreciation at a recent Child Find gala. Grant has donated to Child Find ever since her grandson was found about 10 years ago. "He was living in Ottawa with her father and stepmother, and when his father died, his stepmother kicked him out," she said afterwards. "He was 16 years old at the time. His mother was living in Edmonton, and when she heard about this, she traveled to Ottawa to look for him. "Unable to find him - and by this time frantic - she contacted Child Find. After Child Find found him. he made his way back to Edmonton to live with his mother." Hers was one of several happy sto ries of children being reunited with their families - and the only one delivered in person at the recent Child Find Ontario gala for some 30 donors and sponsors hosted by Pigeon Branding & Design. This creative firm designed the `Justin Poster' (on this page) for Child Find's Green Ribbon of Hope campaign. Child Find Ontario was celebrating last year's achievement of its financial goal of $1.5 million, in donations and gifts-in-kind. This included a threeyear, $250,000 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. The organization tracked a 97% suc cess rate for 2000, and assisted over 500 families last year. "Our most recent recovery was a runaway teen from Etobicoke - too scared to go home - who typed his name into an Internet search site at a Vancouver cafe and saw his name and picture come up on Child Find's site and discovered that his parents were not mad at him." David had run away in June 2001 and returned home in early January. "1 was very satisfied with the support service that Child Find offered," said a letter from his mother. "They have been there for me the whole time. When I gave up all my hope, when police gave me no support, they (Child Find) were always available for comfort and kept me strong. There were times when I didn't want to be here but they helped me gain back my lost hope. There was always someone to talk to, always someone there. "Because Child Find was involved my David was found. "It has given him sin extra boost up to contact his family and come back home. He knew he was missed. "I just want to say that the impossi ble is always possible. David came back. If anyone ever won the lottery they should completely support this organization." Another letter is a hand written note from an eight-year-old recovered girl. Amanda, missing from St. Paul, Minnesota, was located in Toronto in 1997 - within three days of being registered with Child Find. "I don't know how to thank you for my Jessica Bear," she wrote. Every recovered child receives a teddv bear from Child Find. "Thank you for letting Jim (the investigating officer) help Mama find me. He's my super hero!" After he went miss ing from Toronto for four months, Jordan was located in Winnipeg in late 1997. "My sister Dianna and her son Claude have spoken many times about Child Find and how your organiza tion was trying to help find C laude's son Jordan," began a letter from his grandmother's sister. "It's nice to know that there are people out there who really care and want to help, and do make a difference, and also that it does happen. "Just to see Claude and his son Jordan together is a mira cle." And. seven-year-old triplets were returned home after a three-month abduction across three international boundaries. "Only those unfortunate parents who have either gone through the experience of a child abduction or whose children are still missing can fully appreciate the importance of Child Find," wrote their father. `T h e emotional lift a parent receives knowing that there are people out there constantly working to help find your children is critical. "It helps build the inner strength needed to deal with the crisis (not knowing when, or if. you will see them again). "Child Find was there from the beginning and continued to pro vide emotional follow-up sup port after our children were found. These things are very important to our family get ting back to normal." It is these kinds of let ters that keep Child Find's nine full and parttime staff - and volun teers - motivated. These letters, read by Child Find board members, moved many at the gala to tears. "W e'll have an over 90% success rate for last year," said Child Find O ntario's executive director Holly Benson. were either missing or are at risk of going missing - a former partner may be threatening to take the kids. There's a lot of that happening." Child Find Ontario has about 100 active cases at any given time, explained Benson. "Some of these cases have been on the books year after year. Nicole Moran is our oldest case. We have been look ing for her for 16 years." A missing child is heartbreaking for the child, the parents and die com munity, said Benson. 'T here is enormous damage caused my missing children, not only to the children themselves, but to the commu nity, families, and employers - someone who has lost a child won't be going to work, and won't even be thinking about work. And. there's also that need for trauma counselling." The largest percentage of reported cases of missing children are teenage runaways, continued Benson. "This is very common, and accounts for 15,000 cases of missing children reported to police in Ontario. "Most teenage kids don't run away because they're having problems of home, or have been sexually or physi cally abused." said Benson. "They run away because they're having problems at school, and a prob lem communicating at home - the aver age teenage problems. "Most runaways are back within 48 hours to a week, when they get cold, hungry or their money runs out - they realize that it's not so bad at home." One in seven teenagers runs away from home each year. Parental abduction comes with its own set o f problems - one major issue being that custody orders granted in Ontario are not recognized in any of the other provinces, said Benson. "Parental abductions are committed by parents who are not happy with their divorce settlements and custody orders, and take the children." Up until two years ago. Child Find did not have any information available to divorced parents who have been given custody and fear their children will be abducted by the other parent during visitations. Thanks to a grant received from the Ministry of the Solicitor General, Child Find has distributed 50,000 brochures titled Parents Steeling Children. (See Truckers . . page C2) "Missing chil dren is a huge issue nationally, and in Ontario. In Canada, about 60,(XX) missing children are reported to police. Plus, there arc a lot of cases not reported to police, for example, a teen may stay overnight at a friend's place and come home the next morning." In Ontario alone, said Benson, there are 20,000 missing children. 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