Family Tracing Service

Morcombes launch HELP ME app for children

Barry Ng — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 14:43:00 +1100

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Morcombes launch HELP ME app for children

IF ONLY Sunshine Coast teenager Daniel Morcombe had been able to call for help and raise the alarm that he felt threatened, the lives of so many Queenslanders would have been changed.

Child safety crusaders Bruce and Denise Morcombe will today launch a 99c app aimed at helping young people in distress.

Daniel, 13, vanished more than eight years ago, and the Morcombes have spent months developing the HELP ME app which is available now through iTunes.

The app features a panic button which, when activated, alerts two nominated contacts via SMS of the user's exact location.

The app also includes a function for recording suspicious activity, helpful phone numbers, child safety tips and educational resources.

Mr Morcombe said a tool like this could have saved their son, or at least helped find him sooner, when he disappeared from a Woombye bus stop in December 2003.

"We've come back to 'What is it that would have helped Daniel?' One thing was a phone and the option of conveying 'I feel threatened'," he said. "'Run' would have been our first instruction to Daniel.

"But then, when he was at a safe location, maybe 200m down the road, he could have pushed a button on his phone that would have sent a message saying 'I am here and I need help urgently'."

Mr Morcombe said the app, which he likened to a "human EPIRB", could also assist police.

The app is the latest project for the Sunshine Coast couple and comes after the arrest of Brett Peter Cowan in August in relation to Daniel's murder, followed by the discovery of some of the teenager's remains at Glass House Mountains.

Since Cowan's arrest, the Morcombes have also been named Queensland nominees for Australians of the Year, were made child safety ambassadors and received a child-protection award.

Queensland University of Technology IT expert Peter Black said that the app was a "worthwhile investment" for parents.

"One of the main reasons parents want their children to have mobile phones is not so they can play Angry Birds but so they can contact their parents in an emergency," he said.

"Geo-location technology on these phones . . . can be really important if a child is lost or needs help quickly but doesn't really know where they are."

Carol Ronken, research manager at child protection advocacy group Bravehearts, supports the initiative.

"We just need to ensure the marketing to children and adults is done in a balanced way and doesn't promote a climate of fear," she said.

The Morcombes said the app had been designed to minimise extra work for emergency services.

Mrs Morcombe said the app - targeted at the parents of young children and teenagers - could not be used as a tracking device.

Based on its success, the app may also be rolled out across other platforms, including Microsoft's Windows and Google's Android.

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Launch of a new book The Genogram Journey

Barry Ng — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 14:05:00 +1100

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Launch of a new book The Genogram Journey

A new book has been launched, by Monica McGoldrick, ‘The Genogram Journey’ W.W. Norton & Company.

It talks about Reconnecting with Your Family, Family Trees, Family Stories, Ties and Binds, Death and Losses, Brothers and Sisters, Couple Relationships.

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New Find & Connect website

Barry Ng — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 13:48:00 +1100

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New Find & Connect website

The new Find & Connect website launched by the government is a gateway to connect Forgotten Australians, Former Child Migrants and their families, to information and resources that help make sense of the past, and to see where their story its into the broader historical context.

The website can be accessed by

http://www.findandconnect.gov.au/

The fact sheets describing how to use the website is in

http://www.findandconnect.gov.au/help.html

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Doorway of Hope

Family Tracing Service — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 13:37:00 +1000

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Doorway of Hope

The Doorway of Hope Missing Person's Remembrance Garden is a unique development established in New South Wales. It has been set up to honour Missing Persons and offer comfort for those impacted. It is a place where family, friends and the public can attend to honour and pay respect to those lives lost, but not found.

Doorway of Hope Invite

Press Release

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UK Family Tracing Service, BBC Radio 2 broadcast

Family Tracing Service — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:06:00 +1100

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UK Family Tracing Service, BBC Radio 2 broadcast

On Tuesday 22nd at 10:30pm, UK time (9:30am, 23rd, Sydney time), BBC Radio 2 will be broadcasting an hour long documentary on the UK Family Tracing Service.

The link to the site to listen to this broadcast or to download it is

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/radio/bbc_radio_two

The broadcast will be available for download for one week.

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