Together to Remember is an annual event in which we remember all those who are missing. We also use this event as a time to remember those missing who were found deceased. It’s an important event for Missing People, those we support and for all those affected by the experience of missing. The event is live streamed on Facebook so that families everywhere can watch and send in messages of support.
Together to Remember is a solemn, but not necessarily sad occasion, during which staff and volunteers from Missing People read aloud messages to the missing from their loved ones, then tie these messages to the Memory Tree. Our Memory Tree is a field maple which was given to us by Richmond Council in 2013 and planted in Palewell Park as an ongoing living tribute to the missing. We planted messages of love from families in a box among the tree’s roots as a gesture. The tree now stands tall and unwavering, growing each year with more messages and memories.
Having someone missing can be a very difficult, isolating experience, one which can never be fully resolved until the person is found. In holding Together to Remember we gather – in-person and online – those who are living with or have known missing. By coming together, we hope they may feel less alone and instead feel a sense of community and connection. We always hold the event at the beginning of Autumn, before the leaves fall, when the air is clean and sharp but before the winter’s chill. Standing together in the comfort and warmth of memory, solidarity and love.
We have launched a regular email so that you can be aware of new missing person appeals and share them far and wide! We are also calling on all Heroes to be the eyes and ears for Missing People on the ground. Your sighting of a missing person could make a difference in a crucial time.
