CASA’s annual For the Love of Children luncheon on February 8 celebrated 25 years of service to children and youth in foster care. Hosted by the Friends of CASA, a volunteer auxiliary that supports CASA, luncheon guests heard from Paola Centeno, who described how having a CASA Advocate changed her life.
Paola described how she was removed from her family when she was 15 years old because of abuse, and placed in a foster home. “My foster mom was nice,” Paola said, “but it was hard that my life had changed so much.” Paola said the good thing that came out of this experience was that Dawn Wells became her Advocate. “I liked her from the very first time we met,” Paola said. Paola, now 18 years old, graduated from high school in December. She is working full-time, and lives on her own with her infant daughter. As for her CASA, Paola said, “She’ll always be by my side.”
Advocate Doug Fischer, Vice President at Santa Cruz County Bank, also shared his experiences as an Advocate for the past five years for his now-15-year-old young man. Doug’s CASA youth was in a very unusual situation, with very unique needs. Doug said, “His educational needs were so vast, it was difficult to know where to start.” Through CASA’s Children’s Fund, Doug was able to get the tutoring support his CASA youth so desperately needed. The young man now carries a 4.0 GPA. “Because of CASA’s support, and the support of the Children’s Fund’” said Doug, “boys like my CASA youth are able to receive things that not only give them a feeling of comfort, but allow them to grow in ways they may never had thought possible.”
Current dependency court judge, the Honorable Rebecca Connolly, also spoke at the event. She said, “CASA Advocates offer safety and stability to the child, and they give the court insight on that child that we might not otherwise have.”
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For information on how to support children and youth in foster care, please call (831) 761-2956, or visit www.casaofsantacruz.org.