'It isn't our job to fix anything, just to listen': Inside the Missing People helpline

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Paul Joseph, helpline manager at Missing People  Credit: Paul Grover/Telegraph (photographer for the McCanns!)

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13 December 2017 • 6:00am    

In a quiet office in south London, above a bustling Waitrose and a not-quite bustling furniture store, a group of dedicated workers listen for the calls of Britain’s lost.

It is here where Missing People – a national organisation that offers assistance to the 250,000 or so individuals that run away or go missing every year, as well as support for their families – is headquartered, and where the charity’s free, confidential helpline is manned, day and night, all year round.

Every day, the 24/7, international (Britons missing abroad, such as Madeleine McCann, also fall under their remit) line at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]rings nearly 200 times. Of those calls, some come from the worried friends and family of an absent loved one; others might be from the police or social services following up on a particular case. But for the most part, the voice at the other end is that of a person already absent, or considering running away.

“It can be difficult, because people often don’t consider themselves ‘missing,’” says Paul Joseph, a gentle, bearded 40-year-old who has managed the helpline for six years. “For whatever reason, they might have simply decided to remove themselves from a particular situation, and haven’t alerted anyone.”

There are endless reasons why somebody could feel compelled to run away, but Missing People makes no judgement. Whether the caller is suffering an adolescent tantrum, severe depression, marital breakdown, escaping abuse or simply harbouring a desire to start again, the team must be ready for anything.

“We do see similarities between cases, but every person is treated entirely as an individual. Every situation has different factors involved,” Joseph says.

 
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 Missing People receive almost 200 calls a day  Credit: Sparth    

Calls to the helpline are steady, rather than in peaks and troughs, though slight upticks are experienced seasonally; since almost two thirds of missing people are under 25, for instance, the school holidays see a rise. As does this time of year.

“It’s very dark, which can definitely contribute to making people feel like they need support,” says Joseph. “Plus, people like to think of family at Christmas, whether they want to reach out to people they’ve lost touch with or get home themselves.”


Set up from a bedroom by Mary Asprey and Janet Newman after the disappearance of Suzy Lamplugh in 1986, the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] helpline is built on trust and confidentiality. In phoning the free number, absentees know that they aren’t speaking to a member of an authority who will attempt to retrieve them, and they do not have to disclose personal information like their name or location. If they do wish to speak to the police or their families, however, they are put through by the helpline staff, thus removing traceability. Three-way calls, when Missing People stay on the line as a liaison between the individual and an authority, another charity or a family member, are common.
“It isn’t our job to fix anything here, but just to listen to that person and get involved only when they ask us to,” Joseph says. “They might have seen themselves on a poster and just want us to inform the police that they’re not in danger. Or they might want a chat. Or they’ll want our help in getting back in touch with the right people. It’s always their decision.”

In addition to the helpline, it’s possible to reach the office by email and text, while there’s also a live chat service, launched in the past year and overseen by 25-year-old Adwoa Duncan. “For a lot of young people these days, especially if they are in trouble, they might not be comfortable speaking on the phone to a stranger. We’re only in the early stages [of the chat], but it’s very popular, and we know we need to digitise to keep up,” she says.


On one side of the small, open plan helpline office, a whiteboard bears the names of recent people suspected missing. A separate, shorter list appears under the heading ‘FOUND’. In all, the team answering phones, texts, emails and online chats consists of a 30-strong group of full and part-time workers, plus a large group of volunteers who take four-hour daytime shifts. Overnight, from 10pm-8am, two people normally hold the fort, with the support of an on-call manager.

Today’s helpline responders, four women of varying ages, huddle around a small bank of computers working with cheerful diligence. A tray of seasonal cupcakes receives much attention. Small-talk flies. But when the phone rings, answered with a calm, “Services Team?”, a hush descends.

“You almost find yourself switching into a mode when you’re talking to them, a listening mode,” says 62-year-old retiree Sarah Allan, who has volunteered since 2008. “You could take 25 calls in a shift, or you could take three calls that last the hours. It’s a real leveller, putting your own little life problems in perspective.”

Allan, who joined Missing People when she heard an appeal for a lost teenager who was the same age as her son at the time, now divides her retirement between one four-hour shift at Missing People per week and two other volunteer roles at different charities.

As well as accompanying new volunteers in their extensive training, Allan hopes to begin helping with Return Home Interviews – a separate service offered by Missing People that sees staff meet returning runaways for informal support.

 
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 Helpline volunteer Sarah Allan  Credit: Paul Grover/Telegraph    

Every staff member’s shift is ended by a debrief, in which they can talk through any traumatic conversations they may have had, so as to take no worries home with them. A handful of times over the years, Allan says, cases have stayed with her for weeks.

“Some years ago I had one call from a 13-year-old boy on the way home from school, who got to the local bakery and used their phone to ring us. He didn’t want to go home because he was being abused there, and didn’t know what to do. The call went on for a very long time, and eventually he did agree for us to do a three-way call with social services, ending with them going to collect him. It really stuck with me.”

Despite the fact that around 70 per cent of people who go missing will return or be found within 24 hours, staff on the phones rarely get the full story from the individual they speak to, and almost never the conclusion. Fleeting chats can be just that, leaving more questions than answers, while on the text service, Allan says, it isn’t uncommon to see a one-word plea: ‘Help.’

“You just don’t know, and you have to get used to that. You’re there for them just in that moment when they call. That’s when they need you.”



Last year, 75 per cent of calls were successfully answered. With further support from [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] though, it’s hoped that percentage can rise significantly. As the only organisation of its kind in the UK, it is many runaways’ only lifeline.

The evening draws in. Passing the soft seating of the debrief area, a cheerful poster catches the eye. ‘When it rains, look for rainbows,’ it reads, ‘when it’s dark, look for stars.’

Day or night, the Missing People helpline is open, on the lookout, and ready to listen.

116 000 is the number to call, text or email for advice, support and options if you, or someone you love, goes missing or runs away

The appeal

To make a donation to Missing People or one of the other charities supported in our Christmas Appeal, please call 0151 284 1927 or see [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].

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Wot?  Fat lot of good that is!

What do they want money for?

What are they there for exactly, do they help find missing people or do they just talk to anyone who calls the helpline manned by volunteers?

How exactly do they support families of missing people?

What exactly do the 'unpaid' ambassadors do for the organisation?  Is it like Rantzen suggests, adding a 'name' to the cause gives it more clout?

I wouldn't give 'em a brass farthing - even if I had one.  I like to know where my money's going, otherwise it's only chasing good after bad.

The organisation that I admire is the Salvation Army. They actively trace people who are missing but respect their privacy. I don't like Missing People because they invade people's privacy by plastering their photographs around. That;s putting the needs of those left behind before the needs of those who went away. They did it on prime time TV when their choir sang. Children are a different matter, but adults can choose to stay missing if that's what they want. Their paid employees seem to concentrate on fundraising so they can pay their own wages and continue to fundraise to pay their own wages, and so on.......

G-Unit wrote:The organisation that I admire is the Salvation Army. They actively trace people who are missing but respect their privacy. I don't like Missing People because they invade people's privacy by plastering their photographs around. That;s putting the needs of those left behind before the needs of those who went away. They did it on prime time TV when their choir sang. Children are a different matter, but adults can choose to stay missing if that's what they want. Their paid employees seem to concentrate on fundraising so they can pay their own wages and continue to fundraise to pay their own wages, and so on.......

Some might say a good marketing ploy ?

ETA:  You are right of course, as is sharonl .  In many instances plastering their name and photographs around could easily threaten their well being or even their life.  People don't just disappear for the fun of it.