What is a Rilya Alert?
In a continuing effort to bring attention to the plight of missing African-American children throughout the United States, Peas In Their Pods founder Janice Lowery, president Gaetane Borders, and the Peas In Their Pods volunteers continue to work tirelessly by utilizing their organization’s missing child alert system called The Rilya Alert. Peas In Their Pods was formed in March of 2007 to bring awareness about the epidemic rate at which African American children are abducted or endangered. “Statistically, approximately 42 percent of missing children are African American, yet many times these children receive the least amount of media exposure. This negatively impacts the likelihood that they will be safely reunited with their loved ones. Peas In Their Pod’s goal is to spread awareness, and improve the reporting and search system as it pertains to African American children” states Ms. Borders. The RILYA Alert is in honor of Rilya Wilson, a 4 year old girl in the Florida foster care system who went missing for over eight months before anyone realized she was gone. This …