Happy Charles is a friend, daughter and mother. It has been over three years since her family has seen her, but they are hopeful a new initiative can bring in tips of where she may be.
A billboard of Charles was unveiled in Prince Albert across the street from the Victoria Street Hospital Friday. It’s emotional for her parents, who said Charles is someone who always went out of her way to help others.
“I remember her silliness and how she would phone me every day and ask me how my day is going,” Charles’ mother Regina Poitras said.
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Charles’ father Carson Poitras said it was a learning curve finding support as they search for their daughter.
“Learning how to do the services, how to learn to deal with missing persons and what the protocols were and what the jurisdictions were,” Carson Poitras said.
“We wanted to make that transition easier for other people with missing persons in the future.”
They have been working with Debbie Thomas of Kokums and Moshums Against Drugs and Alcohol (KAMADA), hoping the billboard initiative will bring more support for others. Thomas funded the billboard through the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) and Girls Commemoration funds.
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“It’s to create awareness, to create a voice for families with missing persons. I’m hoping that the more billboards we have out there for missing persons, that the government starts to realize it’s a national issue,” Thomas said.
Regina and Carson Poitras want the other side of the billboard to have a different missing person last seen in Prince Albert. They would also like to see more billboards across Saskatchewan.