Hadih. My name is Denise Halfyard. I am Lorna's oldest child, and I just want to say what a blessing it is to be able to do this important work alongside my mother.
I'm the assistant director for the Tears to Hope Society, and we fully support the red dress alert. The Tears to Hope Society has a support system with family members along the Highway of Tears. There is a lot of support for this alert, especially if it were to be implemented like the Amber alert.
Since the 231 recommendations were made, we continue to have our women targeted, as they are still going missing or being found murdered.
There were some issues identified for this program. What is the criteria for a missing person? The definition is going to vary. Many families who go to the police are told to wait 24 hours; however, we know that this is not a true regulation, as the first 72 hours are the most important.
What is the threshold of time that allows us to alert the public?
Recently a woman in the north was reported missing. She was active on social media but had not been in direct contact with her loved ones who wanted proof that she was okay. How do we differentiate between someone who's not interested in being in contact with loved ones for various reasons and someone who is truly missing?
Cell service continues to be an issue that gets raised. There are many areas that still don't have that service. North of Terrace, there is zero service unless you have personal Wi-Fi, so, if an alert were to go out while I'm on any part of those highways, I would have no idea who to look for because I wouldn't get the alert until it was too late.
The Tears to Hope Society is working towards the prevention of missing and murdered women and girls through education and taking care of your physical and mental health. When we are educated and are actively involved, we are more empowered. We believe we are stronger when we support one another because “She is Somebody”.