Submitted Photo Back row: Anthony Tabb, Penny Erdely, Kat Bailey, Kyenin Cole, Angelina Falco, Josh Dzierzanowski, and Bill Matteson (Executive Director). Front row: Kayden Dzierzanowski, Kalyana Cole and Gavin Mangus.

On Feb. 3, COPE Foundation 19 took some of the clients to a bowling outing held at Lucky Lanes Bowling Alley in Fredonia. These children were in the company of their parents and/or grandparents. Family unity is key.

“These children are very competitive and determined to have the highest scores. Game on! But their goals exceeded our desires to win. Several of the children achieved higher scores. The adults asked for a rematch,” said COPE Executive Director William Matteson. “Watching the children and families laugh and simply have a great time assured COPE Foundation 19 that our mission is reaching our goals and accomplishing our mission statement.”

COPE (Children of Opioid Parents and Empowerment) was created to help overcome the loss of a parent to drugs from death, abandonment, or incarceration. The mission is to bring awareness of the overwhelming facts of drug abuse and overdoses, aid them in making positive choices in their lives, and help them to realize they can take control of their future and remain resilient.

To accomplish this mission, COPE created the “Circle of Light” campaign. This campaign consists of four parts: Life Coaching, Social Interaction, Physical Healing, and Mental Health Stability. Each part works in synergy with the others to create an individualized plan to focus on each child, and to help them recover from their loss.

“Our current efforts have been successful, and we have changed lives, but there are many more children we can help,” said Matteson.

All qualified children will be screened for their mental and physical well-being, as well as the severity of their needs. Based upon these results, each child will be entered into the “Circle of Light” campaign at a level appropriate to their needs. Each child is assigned a life coach, or counselor, to help them as they progress through this process.

Matteson invites people to join their efforts by becoming a financially contributing member. It costs approximately $2,800 per child to accomplish these goals. “Your commitment will help cover the essential education, psychiatric and physical aspects of the Cope Foundation 19 Circle of Light process. During the Circle of Light process, our objective is to unite the clients with their loved ones through our positive activities and events,” he said.

For more information, visit www.copefoundation19.com.