What made you decide to become a CASA? I honestly had thought about it for years and then one day I saw the Facebook post at the beginning of the pandemic about how 500 (at the time) children are in foster care right now without a CASA. That did it.
What has been the most rewarding part of being a CASA? 100% the kids. Getting to know them and seeing their bright shiny faces just makes my month – each month.
Please share a special moment with us about your advocacy work with your CASA kid or on your case. On my first face to face visit, I drove up and all of the kids are outside playing. It was a gorgeous day. I get out of my car and one of my kids yelled to her brother “Come here! Laura’s here!”. Then they ran up and hugged me. It was amazing! And, this was after months of just being on Zoom calls.
What is your favorite way to connect with your CASA kid(s)? Face to Face for sure. When you are on Zoom with multiple kids, not everyone gets to talk. Even if they do, it isn’t as much as in person. You can really connect with each kid when you visit them in person and get to know their personalities. I have been on one case for almost 2 years so I have seen them blossom and grow.
Why do you think having a CASA volunteer throughout such a chaotic time is important for foster children? They have another person on their team (one of my kids calls them “his workers”). But the special thing about being a CASA is they know you are there just for them. To ensure they are getting absolutely everything they could need. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.