The PSP program “Estou Aqui! Children” (EAC) program has helped find 52 children who had momentarily lost their families in 11 years. In 2023, 50,000 bracelets were allocated and PSP recommends their use during World Youth Day (WYD) and other events involving many people.
Events with crowds, such as the World Youth Day taking place in Lisbon from August 1, can generate family mismatches where children get lost from their families. With the EAC the youngest wear a bracelet that, if they get lost, any adult who finds them can contact the PSP, share the location and the alphanumeric code that appears on the bracelet allowing agents to contact the family directly and speed up the process.
Commissioner Patrícia Firmino told JN that for the PSP the main importance of the program is “the speed with which children can be found, often in a matter of minutes”. In the event of a situation of greater confusion, “in which the child is momentarily lost from his family, the bracelets allow minors to be found quickly” and returned to their families.
Therefore, PSP advises all families, Portuguese or not, to join this program. The bracelets are free and valid until the end of the calendar year in which they are purchased. They are intended for children between 2 and 10 years old, whether or not they live in Portugal, and can also be requested by foreign families who are on vacation in Portugal. For individuals over 10 years old, PSP offers the Estou Aqui! Adults.
The EAC program is exclusive and pioneering of the PSP and is made in partnership with MEO, the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Rádio Comercial, “Missing Children Europe” and Instituto de Apoio à Criança, which was joined in 2022 by the Directorate-General for School Establishments (DGEstE).
Wristbands can be ordered on the program website or at any PSP police station at any time. If ordered online, they are picked up at PSP police stations.
WYD in numbers. One million hosts, 20 kilometers a day on foot, zero candles
