Banquet celebrates impact and volunteer efforts

courtesy of KPC Media The Herald Republican

KENDALLVILLE — Northeast Indiana Court Appointed Special Advocates gathered Oct. 9 at the Community Learning Center for a dinner celebration of its volunteer advocates for their compassion, caring and their consistent presence for children whose lives are intertwined with the judicial system.

Court Appointed Special Advocates are specially trained volunteers appointed by a judge to represent the best interests of abused and neglected children in the juvenile court system.

Advocates are a voice for the children, investigating and talking with everyone in the child’s life and using that information to inform judges about the child’s needs and the best outcomes.

Executive director Kristi Bachman listed the sacrifices that CASAs make to serve these children, from taking time off from work or vacations to go to court or training, writing court reports, interacting with the child’s family despite the home situation, to speaking up and speaking out in court even though everyone else in the room disagrees.

CASA volunteers usually lose contact with the children they serve once the court case is closed. They seldom see the long-term results of their advocacy.

This evening was different — an advocate and the Steuben County teen she once served accidently reconnected in the waiting room of a Fort Wayne hospital. They shared their story and its outcomes.

The teen, Victoria Mack Wright, is now an adult, the mother of five children and has her own home in Allen County. Wright was working in the hospital when she spotted CASA volunteer Cheryl Weaver and recognized her.

“Aren’t you my CASA?’ Wright asked Weaver then. “I wasn’t very nice to her.”

“I was so happy to see her,” Weaver said at the program “There’s no contact after the case closes but I was always thinking of her.”

“I told her I understood.”

Wright was Weaver’s first CASA case in 2007 and she has been an advocate for 17 years. Weaver is a retired teacher.

Wright was in a foster home when they met in a little room at the teen’s alternative school. Weaver always questioned whether her advocacy had helped Wright.

“I’d hoped that I had her best interest,” Weaver said.

Wright put that question to rest.

“She was a constant in my life,” Wright said. “She was the kindest soul ever. I was a hurt kid who hurt others.”

Bachman also presented volunteer awards. Jackie Boyle received a monogrammed plush blanket for her 10-year milestone as a volunteer advocate.

Stan and Anne Ferguson were honored for their consistent, longtime commitment to a child in a court case that lasted 15 years. The child, now a young adult, left the Collaborative Care program at age 18.

The Fergusons also advocated for a child that had more than 50 placement changes.

“Their dedication to advocating for the best interests of one particular child has been truly inspiring,” said Steuben County Judge Jeremy Musser. “I first met the child approximately 15 years ago when I was a prosecutor. The terrible things the child endured still trouble my mind, and I will never forget them.”

Bachman closed the program by inviting advocates and guest to see Northeast Indiana CASA’s new office on the second floor of the Community Learning Center.

The organization relocated from Albion and continues to serve Noble, LaGrange, Steuben and Whitley counties.

Advocates could choose gifts for their children from suitcases spread on the floor of the new office.