Billy's Law at Michigan's Missing Persons Day

What I walked away from Michigan's (very first) Missing Persons Day with

This past Saturday, May 7th, 2011, I (Sara Huizenga) on behalf of Peace4 the Missing and Billy's Law attended and held an information booth at Michigan's (VERY FIRST) Missing Persons Day.

It was a day of many mixed emotions - which I guess ironically makes sense at any missing persons event in general. 

Perhaps I can help you gain a bit of perspective on what I mean by my typed sentence directly above here by sharing some of the days comments from Families of Missing Loved Ones below ....

We just don't know what to do.

One minute we think it might be okay, but the next moment we're not even sure we can even make it through to seeing the next second, it hurts so bad.

I can't believe I've endured having a missing loved one this long, I never thought I'd be able to last as long as I have.

Thank you for displaying their picture (NamUs Missing Person Poster) - you have no idea as to how much that means to us - it is everything!

People who give us hope help us go on, we couldn't do it without them and the hope they offer.

I will never give up on them - I'll never stop looking.

You have no idea how much this day means to us, we've traveled from (insert many States even COUNTRIES away) just to be here ... wouldn't have missed it for the world.

NamUs has finally given us some hope back!  We thought we'd lost it all for good shortly before finding out about it ... We MUST pass Billy's Law and make it stronger!

I walked away from this event even more convinced of two things in particular ...

1.  I painfully have no magic words to take away this intensely horrific of a pain that families of the missing are forced to endure - every second of every day.

2.  Procedures, legislation and action such as NamUs, Billy's Law, Resourceful Law Enforcement, Kelsey's Law, etc.  are SO NEEDED - and so worth fighting for ... we must work together to ensure these full of hope for the missing things.

Here's how ...  CLICK TO HELP CREATE MUCH NEEDED CHANGE ... let's get going on here and now.

PEACE4 THE MISSING: Voice Platform and Support Network for Families of Missing and Victims of Crime.  *Command Central for the Help Find the Missing Act (Billy's Law)*   http://peace4missing.ning.com

Important Message Billy's Law HR 1300: Co-Sponsors Needed in House and Senate

BILLY'S LAW - HR 1300 & SR 702
        
On March 2011 Billy's Law was introduced into the House Of Representatives as most of you know the law was hung up in the Senate last year. All Bills have to be introduced again if not passed by the end of the year and this is where we are at now. What this means is we are back to square one and the Bill has to go through the same political process as last year meaning we need Cosponsors. There is a change this time on how we are going to handle getting cosponsors which will be explained.

If you look at the top of the page you will see HR 1300 & SR 702, this is the change I was talking about HR 1300 is the Bill number in the House of Representatives and SR 702 is the Bill number in the US Senate We will be getting cosponsor from both at the same time.

Listed below I will give links on how to find and write to your Congressman in the House of Rep and your US Senators ( remember 2 Senators per state ).

First of all a very special Thank you to Congressman Chris Murphy and Ted Poe  for sponsoring this Bill and once again making it bipartisan.

This is the link to find your Congressman  https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

NOTE: Remember to write your Congressman and Senators even if they  Cosponsored this Bill last year.

Now on the Senate side Ct. Senator Joe Lieberman and Ct. Senator Richard Blumenthal will also be sponsoring this Bill.

This is the Link to U.S. Senators  http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm


We all know how important this Bill is these letters and emails MUST be written this Bill will pick up momentum and once it does we have to be ready with our voices even stronger then before. If you are a family with a missing loved one please share your story in your letters.

This is the first post on are call to action I'm sure there will be many more before we are done if there are any questions please feel free to ask and we will get back with answers asap. Also as before when Congressman and Senators cosponsor this Bill they will be listed.

Here also is a link to a petition for Billy's Law  http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-congress-to-pass-billys-law-to...

This Bill will become law but there is a lot of work to do so let's do it.

http://peace4missing.ning.com/forum/topics/important-message-billys-law

PEACE4 THE MISSING: Voice Platform and Support Network for Families of Missing and Victims of Crime.  *Command Central for the Help Find the Missing Act (Billy's Law)*   http://peace4missing.ning.com

RIT Honors George DeLany By Lobbying For Billy's Law

Rochester Institute of Technology students, faculty remember DeLany

Adjunct R.I.T. faculty member Paloma Capanna reads a letter from the DeLany family at the memorial service for George DeLany Tuesday.

 

By Andrew Poole

The Evening Tribune

Posted Apr 20, 2011 @ 01:59 PM

“We will find you — don’t lose hope.” 

 

“I personally don’t know you, but please come back soon.” 

“Strangers are praying — come home.”

Those pleas are just three of hundreds written on a banner for George DeLany, the previously missing Rochester Institute of Technology student whose remains were discovered Sunday night in a shallow indentation near the Wayland-Cohocton town line.

DeLany was last seen March 12, the day before his car was found in the Town of Wayland. State police in vain led massive search efforts, but it was a landowner who found DeLany in a previously unsearched area, two-to-three miles from the missing student’s vehicle.

Tuesday evening a crowd of approximately 75 gathered at the Schmitt Interfaith Center for a memorial service on the R.I.T. campus to remember their friend, classmate, and student.

“For those of you that knew George, I’m awfully sorry for your loss. For those of you that didn’t know George, I’m sorry for your loss, that you didn’t have a chance to get to know him,” said Mary-Beth Cooper, senior vice president for Student Affairs at R.I.T.

Adjunct faculty member Paloma Capanna, who was active in the “Students Finding George DeLany” organization publicizing his disappearance, read a letter from the DeLany family. The family wasn’t in attendance.

The letter summed up DeLany as a “nice person” who wanted to be known as a “tough guy,” despite it being against his nature.

“We are all a bit shy, and George inherited that trait,” said the letter. “That was tough to deal with as he grew older. Once he became involved with people, he could open up, and show the young man we loved so much.”

Much of the conversation at the memorial service centered on the community that developed during DeLany’s disappearance.

“Over the past month, our group (Students Finding George DeLany), with everyone here and in the community, has experienced something special, and that’s because of George,” said R.I.T. student James Brigden. “Not only has he built a sense of community that people work forever to try to build, he’s built it strong ... People work a lifetime to try to build a sense of community, and George did it in a very small amount of time.”

R.I.T. President Bill Destler, speaking before Brigden, also emphasized the community that had developed, and needed to continue.

“I hope all of us will dedicate ourselves to that basic idea, that we are all a family. Those of us that need help, need to know that we can help them,” said Destler. “We don’t know, we may never know, exactly what happened to George. But I think we do know that we have a responsibility to try to minimize these kinds of tragedies.

“If I’m proud of anything, I’m proud of the fact that this community kept its vigil going, both in person here on campus and on social networks ... I’m proud we didn’t give up hope until the very last.”

The discovery of DeLany’s remains would seem to bring closure, but Capanna and Brigden said they wouldn’t step back from the incident that has enveloped them in the past month. Capanna said she and the students will lobby to get Billy’s Law, legislation previously rejected by the Senate Judiciary Committee, back to the Senate.

The law would create stronger sharing of information between missing persons databases and provide grants to municipalities and states to share information, according to an article from the Los Angeles Times.

Some of the details of the case — such as why DeLany was in Wayland, or the official cause of death — aren’t known. To Brigden, whatever details still unknown are irrelevant.

“We’re at the point where we have an answer for George’s family. The details we don’t know, and there aren’t many, aren’t as important to the students,” he said.

Others, though, such as sophomore D.J. Abele, are still curious as to what happened to their classmate.

“I’m torn. Part of me wants to know what happened. I don’t want more horrible news. I don’t,” he said.

Source:  http://www.eveningtribune.com/features/x1798440022/Rochester-Institute-of-Technology-students-faculty-remember-DeLany