Help a Child

Dear Friend,

Home is not safe for Shawn and Kellie.

Like hundreds of other children in Livingston County, these siblings share the trauma and devastation of being uprooted from the only home they have ever known. 

They enter the foster care system because they have been neglected or abused. Everything is unfamiliar: New parental figures, new household surroundings, new daily routines; different schools, teachers, classmates, and neighbors.

Alone and afraid, they struggle with these dramatic shifts happening all around them.

No child should be left to make sense of this life-altering transition on their own.  

That is where our CASA advocates enter the story.

LACASA’s Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) serve as the voice of children in the foster care system. 

CASA volunteers, who undergo extensive training, are sworn in by a family court judge before representing one child, or a group of siblings.

These are children who need a hero. Someone they can count on. A trusted person who shows up when they say they will, and who listens to their thoughts, feelings and opinions. Someone who is there for them—whether that means sitting at the kitchen table and helping them with homework, or cheering them on at school events. A person who not only mentors and guides them, but who attends court proceedings with them and speaks on their behalf.

CASAs are often the only consistent adult in the life of a foster child. 

The ultimate goal of the CASA program is to find stable and loving permanent homes for these children–places where they will feel not only wanted, but treasured.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of our CASA program. Some of our volunteers have been serving as CASA advocates since we launched CASA in 2011. To date, LACASA’s Court Appointed Special Advocates have been the heroes for nearly 400 foster children from our community.

The young people who have benefited from this program over the last decade tell us how the bond they formed with their CASA advocate gave them a sense of hope and self-worth.  

Our CASA program is just one of more than a dozen we provide to help victims of child abuse heal from trauma and regain a sense of normalcy in their lives. 

You can be a hero for children like Shawn, his sister Kellie, and countless other abused and neglected children at LACASA by making a generous donation today. Your support will forever change their life stories.

Sincerely,