The CASA Corner: You don’t have to be extraordinary

“I don’t think I could do what you do.”

I hear some version of that sentence often when I talk to people about CASA. Maybe you’ve thought it, too.
“I’m not a social worker. I don’t know anything about the court system. I wouldn’t know what to say. I’d get too attached.”

Here’s what I wish more people knew: You don’t have to be extraordinary to become a CASA volunteer. You just have to be willing to show up.

Our advocates are ordinary people from our own community. They have jobs, families, responsibilities and busy lives. They aren’t expected to walk into a courtroom knowing all the answers.

We train them. We support them. And they learn. But there are some things we cannot teach.

We cannot teach someone to genuinely care whether a child feels safe. We cannot teach the instinct to notice when a child who usually talks nonstop suddenly becomes quiet. We cannot manufacture the kind of person who remembers a child mentioned an upcoming test, and asks how it went the next time they see them.

Those things come from simply caring.

And sometimes those seemingly little things become very big things to a child who has learned not to expect adults to remember.

Being a CASA isn’t about rescuing a child or fixing their family. It’s about walking beside a child while the adults and the court work toward what comes next. It’s asking questions. It’s listening. It’s paying attention. And when necessary, it’s being brave enough to say, “I don’t think we’re hearing what this child needs.”

Because children deserve adults who care enough to be affected by what happens to them. There are children right here in our community who need that person.

Not a superhero. Not someone with the perfect resume. Someone dependable. Someone compassionate.
Someone who will learn their story, speak their name in rooms they aren’t sitting in, and keep showing up.

Maybe you’ve read “The CASA Corner” these past several months and felt that little tug each time. Maybe you’ve wondered, Could I really do this?

Yes. Maybe you could. And maybe somewhere in our community, there is a child who will someday be very grateful that you decided to try.

To learn more about becoming a CASA volunteer or our upcoming advocate training, please contact Executive Director Hailey Highlen at (715) 891-8877.

You don’t have to change the whole world. Sometimes, you just have to change one child’s experience of it.