A Message from the executive director
Of all things CASA volunteers do for Hunt County children, often it’s the massive task of ensuring these children don’t lose hope.
As you can imagine, experiencing abuse and/or neglect as a child is devastating and dangerous; and yet being removed from the only home and family you have known can often times create even more trauma.
Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) is not involved in the investigation nor decision to remove children from their home; yet CASA stands ready to advocate for the children who are removed from their home, by order of the court, for their own protection.
CASA for Hunt County screens and trains volunteers from all walks of life to become an independent advocate for the children in which the courts have appointed CASA to serve. These volunteers do incredible work to help ensure these children’s needs are supported by all involved in the cases, and that the children’s best interests drive conclusion of the cases.
What CASA volunteers face in their volunteer work are children who often feel unwanted, unloved, and unheard. The children have suffered trauma and experience conflicting emotions. They are children in crisis. The children often feel “what will become of me”. They feel a sense of hopelessness.
Children and youth with a CASA volunteer have significantly higher levels of hope.
CASA volunteers spend many hours with the children, building rapport and getting to know their favorite things, their dreams, and their fears. CASA volunteers communicate with everyone involved in the case and help facilitate services needed by the children, visits with appropriate family members including parents and siblings, and ensure their educational and medical needs are completed.
Here are just a few testimonials from CASA volunteers:
“My favorite moment was watching my CASA child be told she was going home to her loving mother after years of being apart. After a long journey, a true story of forgiveness and unconditional love in the heart of a child created a reason for her mother to resolve her own issues in order to be reunited with her child.”
“As a CASA volunteer, our CASA program collaborated with CPS to reunite Benny with his extended family. I was able to locate his family using Collaborative Family Engagement (CFE) tools and found that his Aunt Martha was overwhelmed to hear he was lingering in foster care. She’s now motivated to adopt him. I can see that Benny has a renewed hope for his future.”
CASA for Hunt County volunteers give of their time and heart to ensure the county’s children have an independent voice in their court case, and also that their CASA kids know they are more than just a case number. That they are loved and valued.
Now celebrating 20 years of existence, this CASA for Hunt County program will continue to provide a voice for the vulnerable children in Hunt County, and help them gain or regain hope, now and well into the future.
Sincerely,
Lori Cope
Executive Director
CASA for Hunt County
