Armed conflict, international disasters, migration and other emergencies and crises leave millions of people around the globe in urgent need of humanitarian assistance every year. As the world’s largest humanitarian network, Red Cross and Red Crescent teams help reconnect separated families through the Restoring Family Links program. For more than 50 years, the American Red Cross has partnered with local Red Cross and Red Crescent societies around the world to help locate and reconnect families through this free and confidential humanitarian service, which is provided regardless of nationality, race, religion, citizenship or immigration status. Read about siblings who were reconnected after eight years following conflict and displacement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The American Red Cross helps reconnect loved ones when:
- Families are separated internationally as a result of conflict, disaster, migration or other humanitarian emergency.
- Families have already tried normal channels of communication to reconnect.
- The family member making the inquiry is able to provide essential information on the sought person.
- The family member making the inquiry is a relative who had been in direct contact with the sought person before the crisis occurred.
To begin a search, please submit an International Reconnecting Families Inquiry Form. The form helps the Red Cross review your request and put you in contact with a Red Cross caseworker who can collect additional information from you to get the process started. If you have questions about the form or Restoring Family Links services, please call our free national helpline at 844-782-9441.
