1. Conversation about “Missing”
as a Social Issue
For: London Community Teach-In
Atlohsa Native Family Healing Services
By: Maureen Trask
On: Tues. Aug. 25, 2019
9:30AM - Noon
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2. Land Acknowledgment
We are gathered on traditional First Nations territory.
As a sign of recognition and respect and in the spirit of
reconciliation, I wish to pay homage to the First Nations
Ancestors who first made this land their home.
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Ontario First Nations Map, 2011
Canada Gov.
3. Conversation Themes
I will facilitate conversation to explore “missing” as a
social issue. Conversation will focus on:
- the needs of families;
- the gaps in services; and
- the necessary roles of community,
policing and government.
- Share Learnings, Q & A
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9. What is Ambiguous Loss?
Dr. Pauline Boss, principal theorist of the concept of Ambiguous Loss
and Dr. Gloria Horsley, founder and president of Open to Hope Fdn,
discuss Ambiguous Loss at the annual Association of Death Education
and Counseling (ADEC) Conference, 2011.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2vYyefAgZ0
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10. Types of Ambiguous Loss
1. Physically Absent-
Psychologically Present
2. Psychologically Absent-
Physically Present
Adoption
Migration
Miscarriage and stillborn loss
Missing people
Natural disaster and
catastrophic tragedy
Addictions
Change in Gender Identity or
Gender Expression
Dementia and Alzheimer’s
Mental health issues
Separation/Divorce
Traumatic brain injury or coma
There is no verification of death.
There is no certainty that the person will come back.
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11. Why does it matter?
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Ambiguous Loss will:
Freeze the grief process
Paralyze couple and family functioning
Change beliefs/values
Prevent “closure” but,
“closure” is a myth
(Need answers for Resolution)
Families can name it
(Ambiguous Loss)
Families need support
(I’m not crazy, it’s the situation)
12. What do Families Need?
Be heard and believed
Know what to expect of self and others
Feel safe and connected, with trust
Understand the systems and resources
Minimize the emotional roller coaster
Take care of self first, find balance
Cope in healthy ways, reduce stress
Strive to maintain Hope, build Resiliency
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13. Support Skills
Crisis Intervention (trauma informed)
Help with urgent practical matters
“Navigate” the systems and resources
Arrange and link to other services/resources
Provide Emotional Support and Safe Space
Demonstrate Compassion, Kindness,
Genuine Listening, Being Present
+ Understand Ambiguous Loss
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14. Building Positive Relations
with Police - A Family Perspective
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Need to be taken seriously in the first instance –
Families know their loved one so take the report
Eliminate lifestyle bias and assumptions about the
disappearance - Investigate all cases equally
Keep us in the loop with ongoing communications
– Agreement on frequency of contact
Help us make sense of the entire situation – Inform
families of process, roles and options
15. How Police Can Help -
to Improve Relationship with Families
• Take the Missing Persons Report
• Make a Communication Agreement with family contacts
• Conduct consistent, transparent Missing Person Practises
• Have a point of contact for Investigations and Searches
• Inform families of Victim Services/other Support Services
• Provide Reporting on Missing Persons
(as part of Annual Statistics/Trends)
• Understand the uncertainty and triggers families face
• Be there for the families and the missing person
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16. Services (Support)
Support looks different to everyone
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* Someone to really listen
* Being present
* Just being there
were by far the most popular
ways to support someone.
Tips for Supporting Those Coping with the
Disappearance of a Loved One by Cindy S.
19. Triggers and Trauma
“Having a missing loved one is the most painful
loss of all.” (Dr. Pauline Boss, 1999)
The *Trauma Timeline is an important aspect when
assessing the implications of the loss.
Triggers can affect the emotional ups and downs:
Possible Sightings
Remains Found
Other Missing Persons
News, tips, or leads
Items(s) found, but no physical evidence
Officer or Jurisdiction change(s)
* Supporting those who are left behind, Australian Federal Police (Sarah Wayland), 2007 19
20. Stats – Patterns in the Numbers
Toronto (Toronto Star, Oct. 19, 2018)
More than 100,000 cases since 1990
Avg. 4,200 missing persons' reports annually
Ontario (NCMPUR*, Fast Fact Sheet, 2018)
17,686 Missing Person Occurrences (CPIC Transactions)
(10,189 children, 7,497 adults)
Cases on Canada’s Missing Public Site (Aug. 25, 2019)
ON - 55 children, 425 adults, 172 unidentified remains
Canada - 174 children, 1,253 adults, 291 unid’ed remains
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21. Stats - Patterns in the Numbers
Numbers represent CPIC transactions
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From Canada’s Missing (Public Website), Publications
www.canadasmissing.ca
22. Stats - Patterns in the Numbers
Fast facts (of Missing Children/Youth Reports):
58% involve females.
73% (male and female) are runaways.
62% were removed within 24 hours, while 92% were
removed within a week
57% of all missing persons reports involve children.
BC has the highest # of missing children reports per
capita (667 per 100,000 people), 92% higher than missing
adults in BC, followed by SK (458 per 100,000 people),
while PEI has the lowest (10 per 100,000 people).
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23. Stats - Patterns in the Numbers
Fast facts (of Adult Reports):
57% involve males.
68% of adults who wandered off were males.
60% of reports were removed within 24 hours, while
88% were removed within a week Footnote 6.
BC has the highest # of missing adult reports per capita
(246 per 100,000 people), followed by NWT
(161 per 100,000 people), while Nunavut has the
lowest (8 per 100,000 people).
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26. Legislative/Policy Advocacy
Petition “Ontario needs Missing Persons Legislation”
Mar. 8, 2018, the Missing Persons Act (Schedule 7 of Bill
175) proclaimed, now in effect July 1, 2019.
Petition “Develop a National Silver Alert strategy for
Canada” e-1588, Apr. 1, 2019. See: Silver Alert Canada
Petition “Declare a National Missing Persons Day in
Canada” tabled Jan. 29, 2018, no Gov. re-response.
Input “Missing Persons - Police Practices” gathering
first hand experience from families with missing persons to
inform and recommend necessary changes.
Petition “National Missing Persons Framework” TBD
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28. Legislative/Policy Advocacy
Other Champions required for:
“National Missing Persons Framework”
“Declare a National Missing Persons Week in Canada”
“Missing Persons Status for Guardianship”
Supports for those Missing
Supports for Families, those left behind
Tools, guides and kits to help family members and
also to help those who are missing.
Strategies and education to prevent going missing.
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30. Shared Learnings / Q & A
Ambiguous Loss is an uncertain loss
Triggers can impact the journey (traumatic)
Each situation is unique and individual
It’s about finding meaning and hope in uncertainty
“Closure” is a myth, families need answers to get
“Resolution”
Relationship with Police is the most important one
“Missing” is a complex, global issue (phenomenon)
Community, Policing, Government, must all help
Any moments or thoughts? Questions? 30
31. Living and Learning on my
Journey of Uncertainty
“Loss of a missing loved one is often a lonely
and an untrodden path for each of us who has
to walk it.” *
31* Living in Limbo: Five Years On, Missing People UK, 2013
32. From me to each of you:
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Maureen Trask: trasker@rogers.com
Support for Us – Families with
Missing Loved Ones (FB page)
Links to the Presentation and
Resource Materials will be emailed.
Editor's Notes
Introductions
Introductions
I’m here to share my journey of ambiguous loss, with having had a missing son for 3 ½ years.
Daniel had set me on this path, which was new to me, but I am learning lots about strength, resiliency, never giving up.
As a parent, no one prepares you for this type of loss..
Through this presentation, I will share what ambiguous loss is, what you can do to help support families and how to relate to their experience of uncertainty.
So, as a Mom left behind, living in limbo, frozen in grief, not knowing what I was grieving or how to deal with this loss. More questions than answers.
My journey was 3 ½ years. Many have endured this path on their own, for far to many years.
This poem “When Someone you love goes missing”, by Tom M. Brown, speaks to this journey.
(read poem)
Dr. Pauline Boss presented the theory of ambiguous loss in 1999 (book). She has also applied her theory by facilitating support for families in numerous disasters including 9/11, Thailand tsunami, and Malaysian air crash. When I learned of her work, I read her books and immediately connected with what I was experiencing, it made sense. It wasn’t me, it was the situation. I contacted her to learn more and determine if support material or services were available for families such as mine, very little in Canada.
This short clip is an excellent introduction to ambiguous loss.
Pauline has written subsequent books on Loss, Trauma and Resilience (2006) and Dementia (2011), building on research and clinical experience of ambiguous loss.
In Loss, Trauma, and Resilience, Boss provides the therapeutic insight and wisdom that aids mental health professionals in not "going for closure," but rather building strength and acceptance of ambiguity. What readers will find is a concrete therapeutic approach that is at once directive and open to the complex contexts in which people find meaning and discover hope in the face of ambiguous losses.
In Loving Someone Who Has Dementia, Boss builds on research and clinical experience, yet the material is presented as a conversation. She shows you a way to embrace rather than resist the ambiguity in your relationship with someone who has dementia.
Two types of ambiguous loss…
Psychologically absent- Physically present
The loved one is physically present however; they are cognitively and emotionally absent.
Physically absent- Psychologically present
The loved one is physically absent but remains psychologically present.
Missing People (for example disappeared, kidnapped, missing in action, or mass disasters such as 9/11)
It is also possible to be experiencing both at the same time as I am with a missing son and a mother with dementia. As you can see with all of these examples there is no real goodbye to the relationship and roles, no farewell ritual, and yet someone is lost and something remains creating ambiguity.
Victim Services Training: (8)- Waterloo Region Nov. 3, 2014 and Mar. 7, 2016
Niagara Region Feb. 3, 2015
Niagara Region Families Oct. 11, 2017
Wellington-Guelph Nov. 7, 2017
Caledon-Dufferin - A Conversation Feb. 6, 2018
Haldimand-Norfolk-New Credit Oct. 2, 2018
Yukon May 29, 2018
Other Groups: (6 + 5 = 11)
- Bereaved Families of Ontario, Oct. 17, 2013
CMHA Wat. Region Local Agencies Apr. 22, 2015
CMHA Wat. Region Select Agencies June 1, 2016
Family Day, Missing People, UK July 30, 2016
Wat. Region Bereavement Group Oct. 26, 2016
Missing Persons Workgroup, Toronto Nov. 7, 2018
Agencies White Owl, Cardinal Counselling, Carizon, Interfaith, KW Counselling (5)
An occurrence is considered as belonging to the year 2017 based on the reported Date Last Seen Footnote 3. The number of missing person subjects reported herein reflects a "point in time" and can change if records for 2017 cases are added, modified, or flagged as duplicate Footnote 4.
Policing in Ontario: six principles
Ontario is the first province in Canada to have a Declaration of Principles written into its statutes. With these principles, Ontario’s police are committed to:
Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Correction Services (MCSCS), updated May 26, 2018
An occurrence is considered as belonging to the year 2017 based on the reported Date Last Seen Footnote 3. The number of missing person subjects reported herein reflects a "point in time" and can change if records for 2017 cases are added, modified, or flagged as duplicate Footnote 4.
An occurrence is considered as belonging to the year 2017 based on the reported Date Last Seen Footnote 3. The number of missing person subjects reported herein reflects a "point in time" and can change if records for 2017 cases are added, modified, or flagged as duplicate Footnote 4.
An occurrence is considered as belonging to the year 2017 based on the reported Date Last Seen Footnote 3. The number of missing person subjects reported herein reflects a "point in time" and can change if records for 2017 cases are added, modified, or flagged as duplicate Footnote 4.
Ambiguous loss inherently creates complicated grief. But the pathology lies in the ambiguity, not in the person whose grief is frozen. Therapeutic challenge then is not closure, but a paradoxical search for meaning in meaninglessness.
Understanding is key – providers must understand ambiguous loss to understand my experience.
Let me live my experience, understanding that the type of loss I’m experiencing will influence the type of grief I experience. (the type of loss shapes the type of grief – and the support challenge)