By Sarah Fenske
You can't find anyone who'll say a bad word about the National Center for Missing Adults. The Phoenix-based non-profit agency has been the adult version of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for more than a decade--serving as a national database and resource for families with missing persons over the age of 18.
But as I reported last fall, Congressional squabbling has held up the agency's funding for more than two years. Apparently, this has nothing to do with the National Center's performance, yet founder and CEO Kym Pasqualini told me that without a cash infusion, she'd have no choice but to close her doors ASAP.
That was in November, yet Pasqualini has managed to hang on, somehow. And now, Congress may finally be ready to take some action. Pasqualini's supporters say there's a hearing to discuss the agency's funding scheduled for 2 p.m. EST. Supporters are urged to call their Congressional representative and urge them to move on H.R. 423, also known as "Kristen's Act Reathorization of 2007." (And yes, I know it's 2008 already ... see what I mean about Congressional stalling?)
For more information on how to get involved, check out this Web page from the Center. It'll only take a minute, but, trust me, somewhere out there a family missing a loved one will be very grateful that you took the time to help.
