May 6, 2010
CALGARY - With Mother’s Day approaching, my heart weighs heavily as I think about all mothers across this country that must face another Mother’s Day with the pain of a missing child.
Each and every day in Canada, over 150 children are reported missing. Even as we gather this Sunday to celebrate Mother’s Day, another 150 mothers and families will be facing the unimaginable fear of a child being stolen from their lives.
The recently publicized case of Lisa Kirkman of Calgary highlights an example of a mother who is fighting to be reunited with her child. In 2008, Lisa’s son, Noah Kirkman, was in Oregon visiting his stepfather when he was taken into the custody of the Department of Human Services simply due to the fact that he was in the country without a legal guardian. Nearly two years, and miles of political technicalities later, Noah is still in a foster home in Oregon. Lisa is not allowed to visit Noah and is no longer allowed supervised phone conversations. The circumstances of this case are a shocking example of the complexities involved with international child reunification cases.
Lisa is working with the Missing Children Society of Canada and Calgary MP Rob Anders to navigate the political waters and bring Noah home. In the meantime, Lisa is organizing a Mother’s Day Rally which will start outside the U.S Consulate and move towards the Canadian Government buildings to help draw attention to the circumstances of her son’s case and to pressure officials from both the Canadian and American governments to take action.
In support of Noah, Lisa and her family, the Missing Children Society of Canada encourages all Canadians to contact their elected officials to ask for Noah’s return, and to continue to contact the media to inquire about this story and keep them pressing on the issue. The Kirkman’s next court date in Oregon is on May 28th, and we hope our collective voices will be heard loud and clear in that court room.
The Kirkman family’s story is an example of the thousands upon thousands of families across Canada that experience the pain and anguish of being separated from a child. In fact, over 55,000 children every year in Canada are reported missing. Each child’s disappearance leaves a gaping wound in their community, and devastates their family, friends and loved ones. As the trail goes cold, the media and local police inevitably must move on, leaving the searching families to face their pain and anguish - seemingly alone. It is for these searching families, like the Kirkmans, that the Missing Children Society of Canada was established in 1986. Our team of former police detectives work closely with law enforcement while conducting frontline, hands-on investigative activities to keep the search alive.
Each May, our annual ‘Light the Way Home’ campaign shows searching families that we all stand with them in their hopeful search. This year, MCSC is inviting the public to join the country in lighting a candle at 8:00 pm on the evening of May 25th, National Missing Children’s Day.
Through our Facebook page and website, Canadians can make a personal pledge to light a candle on the evening of May 25th, and even send a personal Message of Hope to our searching families. Throughout the month of May, we will be collecting the Messages of Hope and tallying the pledges to light a candle with the aim of passing them along to our families of missing children as a powerful and meaningful show of support. I want all our searching families to know that they are not alone, that we all stand with them and support them in their search.
To join our Light the Way Home campaign and make a direct connection with our searching families, please go online to www.mcsc.ca or visit the Missing Children Society of Canada’s page on Facebook.
Amanda Pick
Executive Director, Missing Children Society of Canada
Amanda Pick is the Executive Director of the Missing Children Society of Canada, and a mother of two. Since 1986, the Missing Children Society of Canada has been reuniting missing children with their searching families through professional investigations, public awareness and family support programs. MCSC’s team of former police detectives work closely with law enforcement while conducting frontline, hands-on investigative and search activities.