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Linda Brown Advocacy Initiative to help families
When Linda Brown was reported missing, her family says they were suddenly thrust into the spotlight facing intense media attention, online backlash and speculation about what had happened. Now, they're using that difficult experience to help other families. Leslie Moreno joining us live to tell us more about the Linda Brown advocacy protocol.
CHICAGO - The family of Linda Brown, a Chicago Public Schools special education teacher whose disappearance drew national attention earlier this year, is turning its experience into a new advocacy effort aimed at helping other families facing similar circumstances.
What we know:
Brown was reported missing in January. About a week later, her body was recovered from Lake Michigan. Authorities said her death was a suicide.
Her disappearance quickly went viral, prompting widespread speculation, online backlash and public scrutiny – challenges her family says they were unprepared to navigate while searching for answers.
"We never imagined our own family being in this situation until we were," said Brown’s niece, Jen Rivera, who is also serving as a family spokesperson and founder of the initiative.
Rivera says the family’s experience highlighted major gaps in support for families of missing loved ones, especially when cases draw significant media attention. In response, the family is launching the Linda Brown Advocacy Protocol.
The initiative will provide families with resources, training and workshops designed to help them understand how search efforts work, how to communicate responsibly with the media and how to avoid unintentionally hindering investigations.
Rivera said those tools could have made a meaningful difference during Brown’s case.
"I don’t think we would have been through such media chaos," she said. "It could have prevented a lot of sorrow."
The advocacy protocol is intended to honor Brown’s life and career as an educator while offering guidance to families navigating one of the most difficult moments of their lives.
The family held services for Brown earlier this week.
Looking ahead:
The Linda Brown Advocacy Protocol is expected to roll out resources and workshops in the coming months, with the family hoping the initiative becomes a model for supporting families of missing persons nationwide.
For more information about the Linda Brown Advocacy Protocol head to: https://www.thereignitedproject.com/lindaslegacy.
The Source: The information in this article was reported by FOX Chicago's Leslie Moreno.