The Difference a CASA Makes
This year, for North Texas Giving Day, we are sharing a story about a teenage girl named Adele to illustrate what life would be like WITH and WITHOUT a CASA for a young person as they navigate the child welfare system after experiencing abuse and neglect.
After years of experiencing horrible abuse, Adele couldn’t take it anymore and ran away from home. Scared and confused with nowhere to go, Adele attempted to take her own life. She was rushed to the emergency room and eventually transferred to a psychiatric care facility for care. She was scared and didn’t know what her future would hold.
Adele’s life without a CASA…
After a year of living in residential treatment centers and emergency shelters, Adele became an emancipated minor. Without a CASA, Adele didn’t have a plan for how she could afford the medications or therapy she needed, and her life quickly spiraled out of control. She dropped out of school, experimented with drugs, and found herself in abusive relationships. By the age of 18, she had lived in cars and motels and slept under an overpass a few times.
CASA of Denton County currently provides advocacy for every child involved with the child welfare system. Donate to CASA of Denton County on North Texas Giving Day to ensure that every child who needs one has a CASA by their side.
What Adele’s life would have been like with a CASA…
Adele was admitted into a psychiatric care facility after running away from home. The years of abuse she experienced there had taken a toll on her mental health. She was scared and untrusting of most people she encountered, except for her CASA advocate, Melody. Melody explained that she was there to look out for her best interest. Adele talked with Melody about what she was feeling and about her hopes and dreams for the future.
Adele moved between residential treatment centers, emergency shelters, and transitional living facilities, and her CASA, Melody, continued to advocate for her best interests in court and visit her regularly. She shared with Adele about the PAL program, which would allow her to attend college tuition-free, and they planned for how she would transition into adulthood and still receive the care she needed. As Melody moved Adele into her dorm that fall, she was excited about her future.
Adele’s future was bright, thanks to the path of hope paved by her CASA, Melody. On North Texas Giving Day, donate to CASA of Denton County to pave a path of hope for people like Adele.
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