In 2021, 724 people were reported as missing, out of whom 290 were minors. Although a slight increase compared to the previous two years, Henri Eippers, spokesman of the judicial administration, believes that the numbers show nothing out of the ordinary. He further underlined the importance of providing help to young people in times of a personal crisis.
Aline Hartz from the Child and Youth Helpline (KJT) provided insight into the flight instinct: “It is a plausible reaction since people often try to escape or forget certain feelings. The fact that young people also live longer at home leads to more conflicts and disagreements, same as the pandemic lockdowns did.”
Hartz also discussed the advantages of having a helpline that young people can reach anonymously: “Nobody has to fear being overwhelmed when calling, people can take their time to discuss issues and ask for advice. Are there people in my surroundings that I can fill in? For such discussions, it is helpful that callers remain anonymous as it puts them more at ease to convey previously undiscussed problems.”
Employees of the Pétrusse House, a refuge for people aged twelve to 21, value transparency over anonymity, revealed social worker Pol Thome: “After all these years, we realised that maintaining transparency is an important step. This means informing parents that children are alright and that there is no need to worry. This reassures parents immensely.”
Thome also believes that preventive efforts need to be reinforced so that fewer missing person reports have to be issued in the first place: “We organise events together with adolescents so that more people become aware of us. We also try addressing a variety of issues, such as crises, violence, and boundaries.”
The general sentiment that youth workers try getting across is that nobody has to deal with problems on their own and that a solution can still be found even in moments of great despair.
