The start of a new year often comes with a list of resolutions. New Year’s resolutions are different for everyone, but one of the most common is to live a healthier lifestyle. If you’re hoping to improve your physical and mental health, there’s one option that often gets overlooked and benefits others: volunteering.
Volunteering and helping others has been found to benefit both physical and mental health, and there are a variety of options in our community. If you’re looking for a new way to make changes in your life and in the lives of others, consider resolving to help children and families in the child welfare system by volunteering with CASA in the Heart of Texas.
On any given day, there are close to 30,000 children in the Texas child welfare system. Those children have been removed from their homes and placed in foster care, sometimes far away from their families and communities. They need a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate®) volunteer to stand by their side and advocate for them.
“Children in foster care are often separated from their families, siblings, friends and other loved ones, and placed in an unfamiliar setting far away from everything they know,” said Michelle Wells, Executive Director of CASA in the Heart of Texas. “CASA volunteer Advocates stand with them during this uncertain time, providing a consistent presence and speaking up for their best interest in court, school and other settings.”
CASA volunteer Advocates are everyday members of the community who are recruited, screened and trained to advocate for a child or sibling group in foster care. They get to know the child on an individual level so that they can make sure their physical, emotional and educational needs are met.
They also get to know the child’s parents, family, foster parents and other important people in their life, with the goal of working towards reunifying the child with their parents whenever safe and possible. They help make sure children have a support system of family and other reliable, committed adults who can help them both during and after their time in foster care.
CASA in the Heart of Texas has served 85 children in foster care during 2021 with 23 CASA volunteer Advocates. Unfortunately, there were many additional children in the foster care system without an Advocate. CASA in the Heart of Texas is always seeking more community members to step up and advocate so that more children can be served.
“Volunteering with CASA is an opportunity unlike any other,” said Wells. “It’s a unique chance to make a true, positive difference for a young person and their family. We need more members of the community to join the CASA movement.”
In the New Year, consider becoming a CASA volunteer Advocate and make an impact in a child’s life, and your own. Every child has a chance – it’s you. ®
To learn more, visit www.CASABrownwood.org. The next information session is Thursday, January 6, 2022, at 6:00 P.M. in the Community Connections of Central Texas (CCCT) building located at 901 Avenue B in Brownwood.