So thankful for Team PCASA
In the Piedmont CASA office, Fall is a notoriously busy time. This year, however, may have set a record. As it had all summer, the number of kids entering the foster care system continued to rise steadily, which meant CASA Supervisors were often flying out of the door to attend last-minute court hearings. Every time the court determined a child had been abused or neglected, the judge asked for a CASA Advocate to be put on the case. Whichever way the court decided, PCASA Supervisors tracked the proceedings.
During all of this, one of our treasured supervisors had to schedule a long-term medical leave. The needs of our kids and families don’t stop for time off, so great care was put into the prep beforehand so that everyone had the steady support they needed. The entire 2nd floor team pitched in to cover hearings, reinforce Advocates, and get reports to court. Just as everything was sorted and in place, several other staff members had unplanned medical needs that overlapped and immediately followed the first. Week after week, month after month, I watched Team PCASA step up to make everything work.
We have always been a collaborative team. Not just because CASA cases are often complicated, but because it is also vital to share the emotional burdens of cases, both the pain and the success. Being collaborative makes us strong and that makes the work we do for our kids more effective. Seeing the Supervisors step up for one another as well as for all the kids they serve was not surprising, but it was enormously inspiring.
At the same time, there were Advocates going through personal struggles. The amount of drive and dedication these volunteers invest in their work is incredible. They sit for hours at emotional court hearings. They then invest even more time in preparing thorough and fair reports for the courts, persistently nudging to ensure their youth and families are getting what they need. If there is one overarching trait of effective CASA Advocates, it is their enormous capacity for empathy. And again, it was inspiring to see that empathy so quickly extend to include their supervisors as they healed and recovered.
Of course, the more cases that were added to our workload, the greater the need for a larger pool of CASA Advocates. That in turn meant that more time was allocated for recruiting, screening, and training. Even though it is her first year, our Recruitment & Training Coordinator, Kari Joyner, has been doing yeoman’s work to increase the Advocate pool, including adding a third training course and finding new places in the community to raise awareness of CASA.
As always, our Bridges to Success Coaches were supporting youth as they navigated all the ups and downs of young adulthood and foster care. Through it all, Coaches went the extra mile to empower their youth and connect them to opportunities. The Coaches’ efforts are youth-led, so this can look different for each young adult: ensuring the needs of new young moms and little ones were met, learning a new language to better communicate in the youth’s first language, or spending evenings taking youth on community outings.
Fall is also a season of events. PCASA staff spent many a Saturday or Sunday spreading the word about CASA and our need for Advocates at community festivals and events. President Kate Duvall and Events Coordinator Ann Douglas Irby created a very special 30th Anniversary event that recognized all the Advocates, Board Members, staff, friends and supporters who have been growing this mission since 1995. What an amazing group of people! You can see and hear some of them in our wonderful new video created by Still Life Projects.
Fall is full for sure. But having this wonderful CASA family to experience it with makes all the difference. THANK you all for being such kind human beings, and for everything you do to advocate for the youth and families in our community.
