Safeguarding Your Children Is The Goal of Child Find Ontario
Bernadete Dupuis, Co-ordinator of the Sudbury Chapter of Child Find Ontario, puts seven year old, Carli Paquin through the fingerprinting process in order that her parents can provide the police with an accurate and complete information package should Carli ever be the unfortunate victim of abduction. Shelley Martel, MPP, has offered the use of her office facilities at the Hanmer Valley Shopping Centre every six months in order that children from Valley East and Capreol can have access to this wonderful program. Over 100 children are put through the process on each occasion.
Child Find Ontario is a non-profit, charitable organization founded in 1983 and is funded from private and corporate donations. It’s primary goal is to assist in the location of missing children, whether from stranger abduction, parental abduction or runaway, and to help reunite them with their lawful parent or guardian. Through programs such as the finger-printing, the organization is also helping to teach children and parents ways to prevent abduction from happening to their children. These tips can be found on the Child Find Online at www.childfind.ca.
While there are many tips provided, some of the basic ones are appropriate for people of any age - not just children.
1. Always let someone know where you are going and when you expect to return. If any of this information changes, make sure to notify the person you told.
2. Always play or travel with a friend. Never go anywhere alone, especially if it is a strange location where there will be very few people around.
3. Never get into a car with a stranger. This means “Never hitch-hike or pick up a hitch-hiker!”
4. Never take candy or anything to drink from a stranger, especially if you are at a party.
5. Never answer the door if you are home alone and never let a stranger who calls know that you are home alone. Always give the impression that someone is there but just not available at the time. Get a number to call back.
6. Do not take shortcuts through dark, secluded areas at night.
These would be great rules of safety for all of us to follow. If children incorporate these rules into their lifestyle from an early age, they may be spared from unfortunate experiences.
If you require more information about the local chapter of Child Find, contact Bernadette Dupuis at 855-1772.