Free Event To Help Anxious Students Move To School Post-COVID

Press release from The Missing Link, C.O.P.E. Inc.:

Aug. 12, 2021

Cleveland, OH — August XX, 2021 — As Cleveland-area students prepare to transition back to
in-person learning this fall, many for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, parents are
navigating their children’s anxieties — and their own anxieties — as they reintegrate to a school
setting.

The Missing Link, C.O.P.E. Inc., a Cleveland-area nonprofit, works with underserved communities
to provide services through community collaboration, workshop facilitation, and mental health
challenge training. The organization is focused on empowering individuals to improve
communication skills, build self-confidence, and adopt healthy ways of coping with life’s daily
stressors. The Missing Link, C.O.P.E. Inc. emphasizes the importance of providing education to
combat mental health stigma.

Students in grades K-12 are invited to attend a cost-free weekend event hosted by The Missing
Link to mentally and emotionally prepare students to re-enter the school setting in Fall 2021.
During the three-day event in which all supplies and materials will be provided, students will be
introduced to Haiku painting as a form of artistic expression, yoga, meditation, and other coping
mechanisms.

Students in low-income communities and minority students have been disproportionately
impacted by the pandemic. Teachers report that these students are more likely to have been
learning remotely for longer than their more privileged peers, and more likely to not have had
their school building open all of last year.

Interview, video + photo opportunity | Students and instructors are available for interviews.

WHAT: The Missing Link, C.O.P.E., Inc. presents C.O.P.E. Weekend
WHEN: Thursday, Aug. 19 | Coping through artistic expression | Haiku painting
Friday, Aug. 20 | Coping through body movement and meditation
Saturday, Aug. 21 | Community Resource Fair (free school supplies & Coping Boxes)
WHERE: Revolutionary Love Community Garden (corner of 123rd and Imperial) | Cleveland
If interested in doing a story on C.O.P.E Weekend, please contact Laylah at
info@themissinglinkcle.org.

Note: Additional video and interview opportunities available Aug. 14-18 when volunteers will be
assembling Coping Boxes for event participants. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, The Missing
Link’s Project Coping Box was designed to assist youth (and their families) in navigating emotions
of loneliness, stress, anxiety, anger, and more due to social isolation brought on by COVID-19. To
date, more than 800 Coping Boxes have been distributed.

About The Missing Link, C.O.P.E., Inc.
Behaviors and practices exposed to children during the development years can greatly impact
how children grow into adulthood, manage relationships, finances, employment, and eventually
parenting. As a child develops, he or she yearns for structure and redirection. The Missing Link,
C.O.P.E., Inc. is committed to identifying youths (age 7-19) who are going to experience transitions into adulthood and offer a support system to avoid the pitfalls that can derail their lives and overall development. Our programs and community events are in place to help students unlearn negative patterns, identify more effective methods of action, and apply intervention as necessary to promote a sense of purpose and the ability to lead a productive life.

This press release was produced by The Missing Link, C.O.P.E., Inc. The views expressed here are the author’s own.