Jane hadn’t seen her father since she was five years old. Her parents had separated following an extramarital affair by her father. Jane would see her father occasionally on his “access” days, but these eventually ceased for no apparent reason. She lived with the hope that one day, her father might look for her, but it never happened.
Now in her thirties, Jane decided she would try and locate her father and approached the family tracing service with her request. Eventually Jane and her father were exchanging letters through the family tracing office.
The Salvation Army’s Family Tracing Service was officially established in 1885. It has developed to become one of our most distinctive international services.
The mission of the Family Tracing Service is to restore (or sustain) family relationships, by tracing relatives with whom contact has been lost, either recently or in the distant past.
The key objectives are:
- • To relieve the anxiety of enquirers, by assuring them of our concern and the full support of our service
- • To trace relatives in order to advise them a family member desires contact
- • To open a line of communication between an enquirer and the person sought
- • To act as intermediaries until such time as trust is established between the parties
Operating Guidelines:
- 1. The Salvation Army reserves the right to accept or reject an inquiry or discontinue a search on the basis of motive, appropriateness and available information.
- 2. The Salvation Army will not reveal any information concerning the whereabouts of a person being sought without obtaining his/her permission.
- 3. The Salvation Army is unable to accept inquiries related to:
- a. legal matters including custody disputes and estate settlements
- b. adoption cases
- c. genealogical searches
- d. persons out of touch for less than six months
- e. former spouses
- f. persons not related to the inquirer
For more information contact The Salvation Army, 2 Overlea Blvd, Toronto, M4H 1P4 (416-425-2111, ext.2321).
