Households and businesses across the country are being asked to 'Leave a Light On' on the evening of Wednesday, October 21, to raise awareness of missing persons.
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The concept was launched in South Australia in 2015 but has since spread nationwide, literally shining a light on an issue that affects tens of thousands of families each year.
Leave A Light On was created as a tribute to two little girls who were kidnapped from the Adelaide Oval in 1973 - Joanne Ratcliffe and Kirste Gordon. After Joanne's disappearance, her parents would always leave the front porch light on in the hope that if she came home, she would know family were waiting for her.
In Australia, more than 38,000 missing persons reports are received by police each year. While most people are found within a short period of time, there remain about 2,600 long-term missing persons, the The National Missing Persons Coordination Centre says. "Long-term missing" is defined as people who have been missing for more than three months.
Leave a Light On Inc's director, Suzie Ratcliffe, Joanne Ratcliffe's younger sister, knows only to well the trauma faced by the families of long term missing persons.
She said as a case becomes older, with no new information, missing persons are quite often forgotten.
"Leave A Light On asks people across Australia, no matter where they live, to leave a light on in memory of missing persons, and as a beacon of hope for their families their missing loved ones will never be forgotten."
"It reflects the practice of many families whose loved ones are still missing, and who leave a light on for them each night in the hope they will one day return," she said.
Our aim is that by lighting up as many premises as possible across Australia, we will draw attention to the issue and perhaps even help bring some of these missing people home.
Households and businesses who are leaving their light on in memory of long term missing persons are asked to share their photos on October 21st, connecting on Instagram and Facebook using the hashtags #leavealighton #bringthemhome #missingpersons
Ms Ratcliffe said households and businesses are being asked to light up their building overnight on October 21.
"If they normally leave their lights on, they are encouraged to change the colour of their bulbs to yellow or blue.
"Join us to brighten the paths home for our missing," she said.
