Blog: Project Jason

9/30/06 Project Jason Family Member Chats
One of the most common questions I receive from families of the missing is in regards to local support groups. Family members are shocked when I tell them there is no such thing, other than one I know of in Indianapolis.

We would attempt to try to start one locally, but because of privacy laws, I generally do not know the contact information for local family members, unless they find us on the internet or hear about us via word of mouth. Since I am unable to get in touch with these families, we cannot offer a support group.

Family members of missing children can be assigned an experienced volunteer to call them on the phone through the wonderful organization, TEAM Hope, for which I am also a volunteer. www.teamhope.org Team Hope is a division of NCMEC.

Family members of missing adults can utilize the Hope2Support forum sponsored by the National Center for Missing Adults at www.theyaremissed.org. The forum can be found at http://www.hope2support.com/ Registration and validation of the missing person case is required.

These two groups are excellent ways for families of missing persons to get support from persons who truly understand what they are going through in this situation. However, in both cases, real time, conversational interaction with other family members is lacking. To try to address this need, Project Jason began a bi-monthly text chat on the internet. We started with a small core group of chatters, and add a few more each time. Even though we haven’t met that many times, I see the beginnings of friendships among those who share this sad, but common bond.

We’re also striving to increase the value of these chats, and have begun to pursue having special guests who are experts in different areas of our cause. These guests will be on hand to answer questions from family members in relation to their particular field of expertise. We’ll be in contact with professionals in the areas of Law Enforcement, media, DNA, heads of other organizations, grief and trauma, search teams, and many more. There will be a guest for one of the two chats per month, with the other chat reserved for interaction with the family members of missing persons.

We will post the transcripts of the chats with guests so that persons who are unable to attend can have this valuable information provided made available to them. If you are a family member of a missing person and are interested in coming to this online chat, please let us know, and we will include you in the email list that will contain the details of the chat and where to go on the Internet. Generally, our chats are held on Tuesdays at 7:30pm CST.

Let me know if you would like to be on the email list for chat events by writing to kelly.jolkowski(at sign)projectjason.org. Please use Family Member Chat in the subject line of your email.

Family members of missing adults can utilize the Hope2Support forum sponsored by the National Center for Missing Adults at www.theyaremissed.org. The forum can be found at http://www.hope2support.com/ Registration and validation of the missing person case is required.

These two groups are excellent ways for families of missing persons to get support from persons who truly understand what they are going through in this situation. However, in both cases, real time, conversational interaction with other family members is lacking. To try to address this need, Project Jason began a bi-monthly text chat on the internet. We started with a small core group of chatters, and add a few more each time. Even though we haven’t met that many times, I see the beginnings of friendships among those who share this sad, but common bond.

We’re also striving to increase the value of these chats, and have begun to pursue having special guests who are experts in different areas of our cause. These guests will be on hand to answer questions from family members in relation to their particular field of expertise. We’ll be in contact with professionals in the areas of Law Enforcement, media, DNA, heads of other organizations, grief and trauma, search teams, and many more. There will be a guest for one of the two chats per month, with the other chat reserved for interaction with the family members of missing persons.