Child Find Saskatchewan permanently closes after 37 years

Saskatoon -

After 37 years, Child Find Saskatchewan permanently closed its doors last month due to a lack of volunteers and donations.

Child Find Saskatchewan started in 1984 and offered programs to keep children safe, to prevent them from running away from home and to support families with a missing child.

The two main programs offered by Child Find are All About Me I.D. and Youth Alert, which both have booklets that can be filled out so that if a child goes missing, they contain crucial information that can be given to law enforcement right away. The booklets are still available on the Child Find Saskatchewan website for people to download and save for future use.

The non-profit, which primarily ran off donations, has worked with local police services, the Ministry of Justice and RCMP over the years to find missing children.

President Phyllis Hallatt has been with Child Find Saskatchewan for more than 35 years and says they have been able to help close numerous cases.

In one case, they were able to find Jonah Kent, who was abducted by his father at the age of two while on vacation with his family in Florida, and wasn’t found and reunited with his family until 17 years later.

While it isn’t always a happy ending, Hallatt said being able to give families closure is one of the things that has kept her going.

“One more family has some closure. And once the child is returned, no matter what the state, is when people can start, parents especially, can start whatever they need to do to deal with the outcome.”

During her time with Child Find, Hallatt has won numerous awards and has worked closely with the U.S. Department of Justice. But, she said now felt like the right time to take a step back.

“I turned 81 this year, so it’s time for me to retire. And I promised my husband 20 years ago I’d retire but here I am and I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve done.”

Hallatt said COVID-19 is what led to a shortage in volunteers and donations — two things Child Find relies on.

“There’s just two of us here. I have a staff person and myself. It’s hard to run your programs and keep the office going with just two of us. So, that’s why volunteers are so important to us.”

That and the fact that more organizations are now offering similar services as Child Find is what led to the decision to close, according to Hallatt.

“There’s so many people that have stepped up and duplicated what we’ve been doing for 37 years so, the need is not as needy as it was 37 years ago,” she said.

“It won’t be Child Find, but there’s other people out there working and doing some of the things that we’ve been doing. So, I think they’ll step up maybe a little bit more, I hope.”

In a statement, Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) Deputy Chief Randy Huisman said the service has partnered with Child Find for many years and is sad to hear of its permanent closure.

“Our service remains appreciative of the organization’s efforts to educate and advocate for the protection and rights of the children and youth in our communities. The closure is a loss to communities across Saskatchewan,” Huisman said.

SPS said it will continue to respond to missing persons files with a dedicated missing persons unit and patrol resources. It adds that while the closure of Child Find is a loss, SPS is confident its success rate in resolving missing persons files will continue.

The Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice and Attorney General also expressed its gratitude for Child Find Saskatchewan in a statement to CTV News.

“We thank Child Find Saskatchewan for the work they have done over the years to advocate for the issue of missing children in Saskatchewan,” the statement said.

“The Government of Saskatchewan works closely with community-based organizations, First Nations, police and other partners to address the issue of missing persons in Saskatchewan and continues to fund three Missing Persons Liaison positions that provide direct services to families of missing persons in Regina, Saskatoon, and Prince Albert.”

Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore, commander officer with the Saskatchewan RCMP, said they are grateful for Child Find Saskatchewan’s commitment to the Amber Albert program in the province and for all of their assistance and support over the years. 

As for Hallatt, she said she has seen a lot of change in her work over the years, which gives her hope for the future.

“We’re all sort of getting more education on how to treat people. I think every year we learn more about people and how people function and it’s just human nature. I think we’re waking up and smelling the roses I guess, and making sure that were kinder to people than we were 25, 35 years ago.”

While Hallatt is now retired, she said she will always be willing find to help if needed.

“I think my name is known well enough if anybody wants any help they know I'll be there but not full time,” she said with a laugh.

Hallatt said the Child Find Saskatchewan website will still be up and running for the next six months to a year so people can access the resources. She said their email and social media accounts will also be monitored for the immediate future.