1
00:00:05,919 --> 00:00:08,945
Welcome to the grazing podcast for Robertson Sheatham

2
00:00:08,945 --> 00:00:11,184
Farmers Coop. My name is Clint, and I

3
00:00:11,184 --> 00:00:13,105
will be your host as we record live

4
00:00:13,105 --> 00:00:14,004
from our beautiful

5
00:00:14,309 --> 00:00:17,210
Springfield, Tennessee location inside our podcast studio.

6
00:00:17,829 --> 00:00:19,989
Robertson Cheatham is a member on Farm Supply

7
00:00:19,989 --> 00:00:21,910
Cooperative. You can learn more about us on

8
00:00:21,910 --> 00:00:25,574
our website, your farmers coopdot com, in addition

9
00:00:25,574 --> 00:00:27,755
to our Facebook and Instagram pages.

10
00:00:31,095 --> 00:00:33,494
Welcome back to the grazing podcast for Robertson

11
00:00:33,494 --> 00:00:36,120
Sheatham Farmers Coop. Today, we are gonna be

12
00:00:36,120 --> 00:00:37,899
talking with miss Leah Blocker.

13
00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:41,135
She is the executive director for CASA of

14
00:00:41,135 --> 00:00:42,895
Robertson County. And for those of you that

15
00:00:42,895 --> 00:00:45,554
don't know, CASA stands for Court Appointed

16
00:00:46,174 --> 00:00:47,155
Special Advocates

17
00:00:47,454 --> 00:00:49,695
for Children. Leah, did I get that correct?

18
00:00:49,695 --> 00:00:50,354
You did.

19
00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:53,280
I was thinking Casa, but you corrected me.

20
00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:54,880
It's Casa. I was saying in my head,

21
00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:57,200
hold on Casa Casa Casa Casa. So listen,

22
00:00:57,200 --> 00:00:58,979
I appreciate you taking the time

23
00:00:59,615 --> 00:01:02,015
to come up here today and educate us

24
00:01:02,015 --> 00:01:04,255
on what Casa is, the purpose of it,

25
00:01:04,255 --> 00:01:05,855
how it was created, how you got into

26
00:01:05,855 --> 00:01:08,219
this line of work because it from what

27
00:01:08,219 --> 00:01:09,680
little I know about it, it's

28
00:01:10,219 --> 00:01:11,200
a a wonderful,

29
00:01:13,099 --> 00:01:14,219
I don't know what you call it. Is

30
00:01:14,219 --> 00:01:16,395
it nonprofit? It is. We are nonprofit. Okay.

31
00:01:16,395 --> 00:01:18,395
That that serves the community in a a

32
00:01:18,395 --> 00:01:18,795
really,

33
00:01:19,515 --> 00:01:21,754
truly amazing way. So I'm excited to hear

34
00:01:21,754 --> 00:01:22,734
more about that.

35
00:01:23,194 --> 00:01:23,694
Now

36
00:01:24,180 --> 00:01:25,780
when we talked on the phone last week,

37
00:01:25,780 --> 00:01:26,420
your office

38
00:01:26,900 --> 00:01:28,819
Mhmm. The old skating rink, is that what

39
00:01:28,819 --> 00:01:31,219
you told no kid. Yeah. How long how

40
00:01:31,219 --> 00:01:32,504
long have you been there in the old

41
00:01:32,504 --> 00:01:33,704
skating rink? I didn't know what they were

42
00:01:33,704 --> 00:01:35,224
using it for. Well, I'm telling you, you

43
00:01:35,224 --> 00:01:36,745
need to come visit me one day because

44
00:01:36,745 --> 00:01:38,525
what he has done to it is phenomenal.

45
00:01:38,584 --> 00:01:40,604
You know, he he kept the nostalgia.

46
00:01:41,090 --> 00:01:42,469
The floor is still there,

47
00:01:43,090 --> 00:01:44,689
up in front where he has his business.

48
00:01:44,689 --> 00:01:46,530
David Devers still owns it. And his mom

49
00:01:46,530 --> 00:01:48,609
and dad were Sam and Lejeune who owned

50
00:01:48,609 --> 00:01:49,430
it originally.

51
00:01:50,055 --> 00:01:52,134
And so he kept the nostalgia of the

52
00:01:52,134 --> 00:01:52,795
the skate

53
00:01:53,254 --> 00:01:54,075
cubby holes,

54
00:01:54,534 --> 00:01:56,775
miss Lejeune's counter where she served all of

55
00:01:56,775 --> 00:01:58,314
her famous birthday cakes.

56
00:01:58,849 --> 00:02:00,689
The railing is still up where you go

57
00:02:00,689 --> 00:02:02,770
and kick the railing at the end. But

58
00:02:02,770 --> 00:02:05,650
in the back, it's then also very retro.

59
00:02:05,650 --> 00:02:07,189
So we have it's kind of a

60
00:02:07,604 --> 00:02:10,405
Coca Cola retro kind of theme. And so

61
00:02:10,405 --> 00:02:13,205
it's it's offices, but Gateway STEM has about

62
00:02:13,205 --> 00:02:14,185
half of the building.

63
00:02:14,780 --> 00:02:16,620
And, if you haven't had the opportunity to

64
00:02:16,620 --> 00:02:18,060
talk to them, that should be your next

65
00:02:18,060 --> 00:02:21,340
podcast because they are amazing. Gateway. Gateway STEM.

66
00:02:21,340 --> 00:02:23,419
It's, Robert Dillard does it, but they do

67
00:02:23,419 --> 00:02:25,284
a lot. Like, this week, they're having Astro

68
00:02:25,284 --> 00:02:27,385
camp. Next week is a drone camp.

69
00:02:28,004 --> 00:02:30,264
And they do a lot of STEM activities

70
00:02:30,325 --> 00:02:31,844
and that kind of stuff. So they have

71
00:02:31,844 --> 00:02:33,909
half of the building. The other part of

72
00:02:33,909 --> 00:02:36,150
the building is offices. So there is an

73
00:02:36,150 --> 00:02:38,090
attorney that has an office out there and,

74
00:02:39,030 --> 00:02:40,629
we have 2 offices out there and then

75
00:02:40,629 --> 00:02:42,889
there's an accountant out there. So it's just

76
00:02:43,094 --> 00:02:45,014
divided off into offices and it's it's really

77
00:02:45,014 --> 00:02:46,775
cool. But when you walk in, you can

78
00:02:46,775 --> 00:02:49,754
still feel the the old nostalgia. Absolutely.

79
00:02:50,319 --> 00:02:51,680
And that's how we know when people are

80
00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:52,960
from here or not. Because when we say

81
00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:54,560
our office is at the old skating rink,

82
00:02:54,560 --> 00:02:56,319
if they ask where is that, you're not

83
00:02:56,319 --> 00:02:56,980
from here.

84
00:02:58,715 --> 00:03:01,115
Is is part of the old hardwood still

85
00:03:01,115 --> 00:03:03,514
there? It's still there. No kidding. The biggest

86
00:03:03,514 --> 00:03:06,334
question everybody asks is is the hump there?

87
00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:07,979
The hump is not

88
00:03:08,919 --> 00:03:10,860
there. That's the first thing I thought

89
00:03:11,319 --> 00:03:13,560
of. The hump was, that was a big

90
00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:16,094
deal Yeah. Way back when. And I'm I

91
00:03:16,094 --> 00:03:18,335
thought to myself, surely they they left the

92
00:03:18,335 --> 00:03:20,974
hump. Maybe. He tried. But it's in the

93
00:03:20,974 --> 00:03:23,634
offices where one of gateway offices, and apparently,

94
00:03:23,694 --> 00:03:25,919
it just the flooring got so bad underneath

95
00:03:25,919 --> 00:03:27,439
it that they did have to remove it,

96
00:03:27,439 --> 00:03:29,680
repair that. But most of the hardwood floor

97
00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:30,900
is the original floor.

98
00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:32,960
Oh, that's neat. The the a lot of

99
00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:33,939
it's still there.

100
00:03:34,245 --> 00:03:36,564
What what caused that home? Does anybody know

101
00:03:36,564 --> 00:03:38,724
or was it just Well, so in the

102
00:03:38,724 --> 00:03:39,544
back now,

103
00:03:39,924 --> 00:03:42,185
David does, he coaches some

104
00:03:42,530 --> 00:03:45,090
baseball stuff. And so some he has, the

105
00:03:45,090 --> 00:03:47,090
fake greenery down, and he has a place

106
00:03:47,090 --> 00:03:48,930
back there where he can do some practice

107
00:03:48,930 --> 00:03:50,229
with his baseball team.

108
00:03:50,825 --> 00:03:53,465
And when he laid that flooring, humps started

109
00:03:53,465 --> 00:03:54,825
appearing. And so it has to do with

110
00:03:54,825 --> 00:03:55,564
the moisture

111
00:03:55,865 --> 00:03:58,025
because the building is so old and trapping

112
00:03:58,025 --> 00:04:00,209
the moisture and it buckles the the floor

113
00:04:00,209 --> 00:04:02,289
is my understanding of how that home got

114
00:04:02,289 --> 00:04:02,789
created.

115
00:04:03,409 --> 00:04:05,650
So It's one of those things that it

116
00:04:05,650 --> 00:04:07,409
worked out well having Yeah. We loved it.

117
00:04:07,409 --> 00:04:09,485
When I was a kid, that was going

118
00:04:09,485 --> 00:04:11,004
over the hump. That was a big deal.

119
00:04:11,004 --> 00:04:12,365
It was like a rite of passage. That's

120
00:04:12,365 --> 00:04:13,884
right. I didn't know if it was there

121
00:04:13,884 --> 00:04:15,405
since the beginning of time or how it

122
00:04:15,405 --> 00:04:16,365
was formed, but I was

123
00:04:17,639 --> 00:04:19,319
You can even still see some of the

124
00:04:19,319 --> 00:04:21,479
outline of, like, the hokey pokey circle in

125
00:04:21,479 --> 00:04:22,839
the middle of the floor. You can still

126
00:04:22,839 --> 00:04:24,680
see some of that out there. I didn't

127
00:04:24,680 --> 00:04:26,615
know. You know, I knew that it was

128
00:04:26,615 --> 00:04:28,615
being renovated, but I didn't know what for.

129
00:04:28,615 --> 00:04:29,595
Hadn't heard anything.

130
00:04:29,975 --> 00:04:31,735
But it sounds like it's you know, the

131
00:04:31,735 --> 00:04:33,800
the purpose of it now also has a

132
00:04:33,879 --> 00:04:36,039
a really, really, really good purpose for, you

133
00:04:36,039 --> 00:04:37,339
know, for y'all and

134
00:04:37,879 --> 00:04:40,599
other businesses. But it's it's neat. The hardwood

135
00:04:40,599 --> 00:04:42,495
is still still there. And it sounds like

136
00:04:42,495 --> 00:04:43,694
they kept a lot of the other stuff,

137
00:04:43,694 --> 00:04:45,375
you know, the railing and whatnot. Of course,

138
00:04:45,375 --> 00:04:46,654
it was his mom and dad, so it

139
00:04:46,654 --> 00:04:48,894
was very sentimental to him too. So That

140
00:04:48,894 --> 00:04:50,334
I had no idea that it was still

141
00:04:50,334 --> 00:04:52,399
in the family of the original owners. I

142
00:04:52,399 --> 00:04:54,420
figured it got sold to some, you know.

143
00:04:54,720 --> 00:04:57,300
Nope. David Devere is the owner. That's that's

144
00:04:57,759 --> 00:04:59,920
encouraging to hear, you know, keeping it keeping

145
00:04:59,920 --> 00:05:02,105
it in the family. That's great. Well, so

146
00:05:02,105 --> 00:05:04,584
your office at the old skating rink, just

147
00:05:04,584 --> 00:05:06,685
just our neighbor right down the road here.

148
00:05:07,225 --> 00:05:10,199
So for people, and I'm I'm included in

149
00:05:10,199 --> 00:05:10,699
this,

150
00:05:12,839 --> 00:05:13,339
CASA.

151
00:05:14,759 --> 00:05:17,240
Going back to when I it's it's, stands

152
00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:19,819
for court appointed special advocates for children.

153
00:05:20,795 --> 00:05:24,074
What is the purpose of CASA? And, you

154
00:05:24,074 --> 00:05:25,754
know, I I'm sure it's a it's a

155
00:05:25,754 --> 00:05:27,995
national type of thing, but but let's focus

156
00:05:27,995 --> 00:05:30,180
on, you know, Robertson County. Now what's the

157
00:05:30,180 --> 00:05:32,740
purpose of CASA here in Robertson County? So

158
00:05:32,740 --> 00:05:35,060
let me go back 20 years. Actually, even

159
00:05:35,060 --> 00:05:37,159
25 years. Carol Sledo,

160
00:05:37,634 --> 00:05:39,474
who, she was a teacher at Springfield High

161
00:05:39,474 --> 00:05:41,555
School. She was very instrumental in the community

162
00:05:41,555 --> 00:05:42,214
all around.

163
00:05:43,154 --> 00:05:44,834
She got to talking to a group of

164
00:05:44,834 --> 00:05:47,699
people about bringing Casa to Robertson County. At

165
00:05:47,699 --> 00:05:50,120
the time, Judge Glover was in the office.

166
00:05:50,819 --> 00:05:53,379
We cannot exist without the support of the

167
00:05:53,379 --> 00:05:54,394
juvenile court judge.

168
00:05:54,875 --> 00:05:57,035
We have to have their cooperation and their

169
00:05:57,035 --> 00:05:58,794
backing, and they have to sign a memorandum

170
00:05:58,794 --> 00:06:00,394
of understanding with us for us to be

171
00:06:00,394 --> 00:06:01,294
able to exist.

172
00:06:01,889 --> 00:06:02,389
So

173
00:06:02,769 --> 00:06:04,610
she got everything off the ground. She got

174
00:06:04,610 --> 00:06:05,990
us established as a 501c3.

175
00:06:07,009 --> 00:06:08,310
And then in 2004,

176
00:06:09,074 --> 00:06:10,834
they trained their first advocates and had their

177
00:06:10,834 --> 00:06:11,574
first cases.

178
00:06:11,875 --> 00:06:14,055
Which means this is our 20th year celebration.

179
00:06:15,954 --> 00:06:18,110
In in that time, we have been supported.

180
00:06:18,110 --> 00:06:20,270
Max Fagan was the judge that actually signed

181
00:06:20,270 --> 00:06:22,990
us, signed our first memorandum of understanding and

182
00:06:22,990 --> 00:06:24,750
Melanie Stark has been with us as the

183
00:06:24,750 --> 00:06:26,290
magistrate for years now.

184
00:06:27,095 --> 00:06:30,055
So we work through juvenile court with those

185
00:06:30,055 --> 00:06:32,394
kids who have been deemed abused and neglected.

186
00:06:33,175 --> 00:06:34,855
I just went to Small Town Startup on

187
00:06:34,855 --> 00:06:37,160
Tuesday and talked to her junior CEO camp.

188
00:06:37,540 --> 00:06:38,040
And

189
00:06:38,419 --> 00:06:40,259
I told them, I said, most people think

190
00:06:40,259 --> 00:06:41,399
abused means

191
00:06:41,860 --> 00:06:43,699
I was hit, I was kicked, I was

192
00:06:43,699 --> 00:06:45,805
that kind of thing. But abuse for our

193
00:06:45,805 --> 00:06:48,205
children can be, my parents did drugs in

194
00:06:48,205 --> 00:06:50,365
front of me, my parents exposed me to

195
00:06:50,365 --> 00:06:52,225
needles that are laying on the coffee table.

196
00:06:52,980 --> 00:06:55,079
It can be that, at midnight,

197
00:06:56,100 --> 00:06:58,500
2 children underage were left in a car

198
00:06:58,500 --> 00:07:00,680
for 3 hours at Kroger parking lot.

199
00:07:01,014 --> 00:07:02,375
One of the kids piped up and said,

200
00:07:02,375 --> 00:07:03,735
what does somebody need to do it? For

201
00:07:03,735 --> 00:07:05,495
Kroger at 3 o'clock in the morning for

202
00:07:05,495 --> 00:07:06,875
3 hours. What are you doing?

203
00:07:07,735 --> 00:07:09,100
I said, well, we didn't ask those questions,

204
00:07:09,100 --> 00:07:10,779
but it was inappropriate to have your children

205
00:07:10,779 --> 00:07:11,520
in the car.

206
00:07:12,620 --> 00:07:14,860
So abuse can and neglect can mean a

207
00:07:14,860 --> 00:07:17,514
lot of different things. Any sort of potential

208
00:07:17,514 --> 00:07:20,235
traumatic event a child has been exposed to.

209
00:07:20,235 --> 00:07:21,675
A lot of our kids are exposed to

210
00:07:21,675 --> 00:07:22,574
domestic violence.

211
00:07:23,035 --> 00:07:26,129
And just being, just witnessing the domestic violence

212
00:07:26,129 --> 00:07:27,889
is enough to be abuse and neglect. Oh,

213
00:07:27,889 --> 00:07:30,689
I'm sure. Yeah. So when when Madrissa Stark

214
00:07:30,689 --> 00:07:33,365
gets a case and she feels like it

215
00:07:33,444 --> 00:07:34,964
could use maybe an extra set of eyes

216
00:07:34,964 --> 00:07:36,964
and ears on that case, then that's when

217
00:07:36,964 --> 00:07:39,125
we're appointed. We would love to serve every

218
00:07:39,125 --> 00:07:41,125
child and we're getting very close to being

219
00:07:41,125 --> 00:07:42,745
able to. Last year, we served

220
00:07:43,279 --> 00:07:45,539
73% of the children that came through.

221
00:07:46,319 --> 00:07:48,500
And we do that by having more advocates.

222
00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:52,154
Currently, we have 38 advocates. And our advocates

223
00:07:52,534 --> 00:07:53,354
go in,

224
00:07:53,974 --> 00:07:55,894
they get to know the children, they know

225
00:07:55,894 --> 00:07:58,694
the placement, they know the biological parents, sometimes

226
00:07:58,694 --> 00:07:59,595
it's the doctors

227
00:08:00,009 --> 00:08:02,569
and the teachers and anybody that's involved in

228
00:08:02,569 --> 00:08:03,629
that kid's life.

229
00:08:04,009 --> 00:08:05,550
What makes us special,

230
00:08:05,850 --> 00:08:07,949
because also on our team is DCS

231
00:08:08,735 --> 00:08:10,975
and parents attorneys and the children each have

232
00:08:10,975 --> 00:08:11,634
an attorney.

233
00:08:12,254 --> 00:08:14,415
But what makes us special is our advocates

234
00:08:14,415 --> 00:08:15,714
are signed one case.

235
00:08:17,129 --> 00:08:19,709
All of the attorneys have multiple cases

236
00:08:20,169 --> 00:08:21,550
and their private caseload

237
00:08:21,850 --> 00:08:24,009
and other things that they're doing. So it

238
00:08:24,009 --> 00:08:26,754
allows them to focus Yes. On that one

239
00:08:26,754 --> 00:08:28,995
particular case and they're not spread too thin.

240
00:08:28,995 --> 00:08:29,495
Yes.

241
00:08:30,354 --> 00:08:32,615
And, you know, we'll go DCS.

242
00:08:33,154 --> 00:08:35,620
They do a wonderful job, but the nature

243
00:08:35,620 --> 00:08:37,379
of the job is there's quite a bit

244
00:08:37,379 --> 00:08:37,959
of turnover.

245
00:08:38,820 --> 00:08:40,820
At no fault of really anybody except that

246
00:08:40,820 --> 00:08:42,179
it's just the nature of the job. It's

247
00:08:42,179 --> 00:08:44,134
a hard job to do. So we've been

248
00:08:44,134 --> 00:08:46,214
on cases that have lasted for 2 years

249
00:08:46,214 --> 00:08:48,855
and the one consistent adult in that child's

250
00:08:48,855 --> 00:08:51,409
life has been their casa worker because doctors

251
00:08:51,409 --> 00:08:54,870
have changed, teachers have changed, DCS workers have

252
00:08:55,250 --> 00:08:57,830
changed, parents and foster parents sometimes have changed.

253
00:08:58,235 --> 00:09:00,235
But we try to keep one consistent adult

254
00:09:00,235 --> 00:09:02,715
with CASA. Okay. So, you know, in in

255
00:09:02,715 --> 00:09:03,455
my brain,

256
00:09:04,875 --> 00:09:07,110
from what I hear, this is an organization

257
00:09:07,570 --> 00:09:09,649
that, you know, if a child has been

258
00:09:09,649 --> 00:09:11,669
through a traumatic event, whether

259
00:09:12,049 --> 00:09:14,304
it could be physical, it could be neglect,

260
00:09:14,304 --> 00:09:15,904
it could be sexual, it could be anything

261
00:09:15,904 --> 00:09:18,165
like that, some sort of major traumatic event

262
00:09:18,705 --> 00:09:21,285
during the duration of the court case,

263
00:09:21,985 --> 00:09:22,965
they are appointed

264
00:09:24,129 --> 00:09:26,450
an advocate, just like it says, someone to

265
00:09:26,450 --> 00:09:29,009
represent them, but, also, I I would imagine,

266
00:09:29,009 --> 00:09:29,750
just be

267
00:09:30,424 --> 00:09:33,065
a familiar face, someone that they get familiar

268
00:09:33,065 --> 00:09:35,545
with over time and they get comfortable with

269
00:09:35,545 --> 00:09:36,285
and they

270
00:09:36,745 --> 00:09:37,804
build a relationship

271
00:09:38,620 --> 00:09:40,940
and trust comes from that. Yes.

272
00:09:41,500 --> 00:09:43,899
For the, you know, the representation of the

273
00:09:43,899 --> 00:09:44,399
child,

274
00:09:44,700 --> 00:09:45,200
which

275
00:09:45,785 --> 00:09:48,205
you know, is wonderful for the child,

276
00:09:48,745 --> 00:09:48,904
it's

277
00:09:49,625 --> 00:09:51,965
for the child itself, but also for

278
00:09:53,180 --> 00:09:55,980
the the court proceedings. Mhmm. I would imagine

279
00:09:55,980 --> 00:09:58,060
just being able to get more information out

280
00:09:58,060 --> 00:09:59,340
of the child and get to know the

281
00:09:59,340 --> 00:10:01,200
child's, you know, the habits and the personality,

282
00:10:01,420 --> 00:10:03,315
and it just it's it's,

283
00:10:04,254 --> 00:10:06,095
a vital part to make sure the case

284
00:10:06,095 --> 00:10:07,315
goes as it should.

285
00:10:07,774 --> 00:10:09,235
And also for the,

286
00:10:09,559 --> 00:10:11,480
like I said, the child there, they have

287
00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:13,799
somebody there comforting Yes. To them because I

288
00:10:13,799 --> 00:10:14,620
can't imagine

289
00:10:15,399 --> 00:10:17,320
the traumatic event, whatever it is that takes

290
00:10:17,320 --> 00:10:19,339
place, but then you're you're in this,

291
00:10:20,024 --> 00:10:22,904
you know, court setting, the sterile court setting

292
00:10:22,904 --> 00:10:25,785
where it's just everything is quiet. It's weird.

293
00:10:25,785 --> 00:10:27,465
You'd been been from the perspective of the

294
00:10:27,465 --> 00:10:29,860
child. It's just a very strange experience I'm

295
00:10:29,860 --> 00:10:30,899
sure to have to go through. And when

296
00:10:30,899 --> 00:10:32,420
you can look over and there's a familiar

297
00:10:32,420 --> 00:10:34,259
face there with you, you trust that that

298
00:10:34,259 --> 00:10:36,424
means quite a bit. I'm quite sure. We

299
00:10:36,424 --> 00:10:38,424
had a case just the other day, and,

300
00:10:38,664 --> 00:10:40,584
it was it was closing that day, and

301
00:10:40,584 --> 00:10:42,584
and the children were actually gonna go stay

302
00:10:42,584 --> 00:10:44,524
permanently with another family member.

303
00:10:45,009 --> 00:10:46,290
But they had to see their father for

304
00:10:46,290 --> 00:10:47,570
the first time in a long time, and

305
00:10:47,570 --> 00:10:48,950
they're very afraid of him.

306
00:10:49,330 --> 00:10:51,730
And my advocate stood up in front in

307
00:10:51,730 --> 00:10:53,815
court, holding the hand of the little girl

308
00:10:53,815 --> 00:10:55,975
while she cried because she was afraid to

309
00:10:55,975 --> 00:10:57,735
be in the same room with him. So

310
00:10:57,735 --> 00:10:59,654
to be able to have the other family

311
00:10:59,654 --> 00:11:01,414
member that was there, but to have somebody

312
00:11:01,414 --> 00:11:02,950
else that you were familiar with and you

313
00:11:02,950 --> 00:11:04,629
were comfortable enough with to be able to

314
00:11:04,629 --> 00:11:06,710
get through that situation. It was it's very

315
00:11:06,710 --> 00:11:08,710
moving to see that. Oh, oh, my goodness.

316
00:11:08,710 --> 00:11:10,250
Oh, my goodness. I can't imagine.

317
00:11:10,565 --> 00:11:12,264
You're talking about some very,

318
00:11:13,524 --> 00:11:16,165
very difficult things that some of these kids

319
00:11:16,165 --> 00:11:18,345
have have Yes. Gone through. And

320
00:11:19,059 --> 00:11:21,220
this has been around since 2004 in Robertson

321
00:11:21,220 --> 00:11:24,100
County. Mhmm. So but before it but it

322
00:11:24,100 --> 00:11:25,879
has to be signed off on

323
00:11:26,375 --> 00:11:27,914
by a local

324
00:11:28,375 --> 00:11:30,534
judge, you said. Yes. Criminal court. It it

325
00:11:30,534 --> 00:11:31,034
gets

326
00:11:31,654 --> 00:11:33,954
it gets disheartening sometimes for me because we'll

327
00:11:33,954 --> 00:11:35,724
get a call and they'll say, hey, we

328
00:11:35,724 --> 00:11:37,494
have this situation. Can y'all help us? The

329
00:11:37,494 --> 00:11:39,264
only way we can get involved in the

330
00:11:39,264 --> 00:11:41,033
case or in a child's life is through

331
00:11:41,033 --> 00:11:42,794
juvenile court. They have to appoint us.

332
00:11:43,654 --> 00:11:45,654
It's not something that, you know, you get

333
00:11:45,654 --> 00:11:47,414
one of a case and you you call

334
00:11:47,414 --> 00:11:48,855
them and say, okay, we're here if you

335
00:11:48,855 --> 00:11:51,035
need us. You there there's some

336
00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:53,320
moving parts that have to be worked out

337
00:11:53,320 --> 00:11:55,639
correctly. And that doesn't mean we can't send

338
00:11:55,639 --> 00:11:57,799
them other resources and we can't suggest different

339
00:11:57,799 --> 00:11:59,799
things. We just can't come become involved of

340
00:11:59,799 --> 00:12:00,779
it as an advocate

341
00:12:01,174 --> 00:12:02,795
unless we're appointed through the courts.

342
00:12:03,174 --> 00:12:03,995
And ultimately,

343
00:12:04,295 --> 00:12:06,375
it's to say of the judge Yes. Presiding

344
00:12:06,375 --> 00:12:08,875
over it, I imagine. Yes. And that's just,

345
00:12:09,300 --> 00:12:10,820
would it just be a judgment call based

346
00:12:10,820 --> 00:12:12,100
on that they look at the case and

347
00:12:12,100 --> 00:12:14,259
say, okay, this could be very beneficial to

348
00:12:14,259 --> 00:12:16,500
the child. Yeah. Magistrate Stark and she is

349
00:12:16,500 --> 00:12:18,019
the only judge that we are in front

350
00:12:18,019 --> 00:12:20,105
of is, Madras Stork. And

351
00:12:20,485 --> 00:12:22,745
she typically looks at a case to say,

352
00:12:24,085 --> 00:12:26,565
because we've had fewer advocates, she's had to

353
00:12:26,565 --> 00:12:28,430
be selective and say, you know, I think

354
00:12:28,430 --> 00:12:29,870
this case is gonna close in a month

355
00:12:29,870 --> 00:12:31,950
or 2. Let's save an advocate and not

356
00:12:31,950 --> 00:12:33,310
put them on this case. Let's go to

357
00:12:33,310 --> 00:12:34,830
this case where maybe it's gonna last a

358
00:12:34,830 --> 00:12:37,165
little longer. Now that we're getting more advocates,

359
00:12:37,165 --> 00:12:38,845
she's able to our our goal is to

360
00:12:38,845 --> 00:12:40,445
serve a 100% of the kids that come

361
00:12:40,445 --> 00:12:42,304
through. So and we're getting

362
00:12:42,659 --> 00:12:44,500
we're getting close to that. We're being able

363
00:12:44,500 --> 00:12:46,100
to serve most of the kids that come

364
00:12:46,100 --> 00:12:47,159
through their her courtroom.

365
00:12:47,620 --> 00:12:50,500
The the beginning origins of of Casa, of

366
00:12:50,500 --> 00:12:53,034
course, it's been in Robeson County since 2004,

367
00:12:53,095 --> 00:12:55,115
you said, but when was

368
00:12:55,495 --> 00:12:57,735
the inception of it to begin with? Do

369
00:12:57,735 --> 00:13:00,269
we know that? I don't. In fact, I'm

370
00:13:00,269 --> 00:13:01,870
supposed to look up those stats for our

371
00:13:01,870 --> 00:13:04,829
upcoming celebration that we're having, but, it's been

372
00:13:04,829 --> 00:13:06,625
around for a long time. Okay. And and

373
00:13:06,625 --> 00:13:08,625
it's not I mean, it's in Alaska. It's,

374
00:13:08,625 --> 00:13:09,264
you know, it's

375
00:13:10,625 --> 00:13:12,225
I have been in trainings. It's funny to

376
00:13:12,225 --> 00:13:13,904
be in a training with somebody who's in

377
00:13:13,904 --> 00:13:17,379
Alaska and Hawaii and California and Tennessee. And

378
00:13:17,379 --> 00:13:18,980
you're like, well and we all we all

379
00:13:18,980 --> 00:13:21,379
operate a little different, but we're all over

380
00:13:21,379 --> 00:13:23,620
the guidelines of the National Casa and and

381
00:13:23,620 --> 00:13:25,075
what they tell us we can do, we

382
00:13:25,075 --> 00:13:27,815
can't do. And originally, it was Judge Glover

383
00:13:27,875 --> 00:13:28,375
that

384
00:13:28,835 --> 00:13:30,754
signed off on this to make it available

385
00:13:30,754 --> 00:13:32,375
for for Robertson County.

386
00:13:33,920 --> 00:13:34,740
Because I've I've

387
00:13:35,279 --> 00:13:37,600
I've heard of it, you know, before, but

388
00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:40,240
I didn't realize, you know, the the degree

389
00:13:40,240 --> 00:13:41,540
that it was this national

390
00:13:42,125 --> 00:13:43,184
nonprofit organization.

391
00:13:43,644 --> 00:13:46,204
So, you know, ultimately, it's this it's a

392
00:13:46,204 --> 00:13:47,105
wonderful tool

393
00:13:47,804 --> 00:13:50,524
dedicated to the children. Yes. I when I

394
00:13:50,524 --> 00:13:52,659
meet with a parent, I tell them,

395
00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:54,960
I'm here for your child. I'm not here

396
00:13:54,960 --> 00:13:57,519
for you. If you're what's best for your

397
00:13:57,519 --> 00:13:58,019
child,

398
00:13:58,480 --> 00:13:59,700
I'm your biggest cheerleader.

399
00:14:00,554 --> 00:14:01,914
But when you prove to me that you're

400
00:14:01,914 --> 00:14:03,434
not what's best for your child, then we

401
00:14:03,434 --> 00:14:04,634
have to I have to do what's best

402
00:14:04,634 --> 00:14:06,894
for your child. Sure. Most parents

403
00:14:07,434 --> 00:14:10,299
who are willing to do the work appreciate

404
00:14:10,299 --> 00:14:12,480
that honesty and appreciate that outlook.

405
00:14:13,419 --> 00:14:14,240
You know, and

406
00:14:14,860 --> 00:14:16,159
we we see

407
00:14:16,825 --> 00:14:17,725
we see reunification

408
00:14:18,264 --> 00:14:18,924
a lot.

409
00:14:19,865 --> 00:14:22,985
Unfortunately, we are seeing more termination of parental

410
00:14:22,985 --> 00:14:24,924
rights where the parents are just completely,

411
00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:27,240
lose all rights to their children and the

412
00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:29,480
children are up for adoption. We have had

413
00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:31,480
3 of those recently. We're waiting on 2

414
00:14:31,480 --> 00:14:33,179
more to come through the courts now.

415
00:14:33,799 --> 00:14:34,620
And those

416
00:14:35,445 --> 00:14:36,105
are heartbreaking

417
00:14:36,565 --> 00:14:38,985
and exhilarating and exciting at the same time.

418
00:14:39,044 --> 00:14:40,105
Because no matter

419
00:14:40,725 --> 00:14:42,884
what the outcome is, if a child gets

420
00:14:42,884 --> 00:14:46,009
a permanent safe placement, that is our goal.

421
00:14:46,169 --> 00:14:47,789
Our first goal is always reunification.

422
00:14:48,410 --> 00:14:50,970
We we want these parents to turn things

423
00:14:50,970 --> 00:14:53,425
around and succeed, and we do everything in

424
00:14:53,425 --> 00:14:55,264
our power to help them and support them

425
00:14:55,264 --> 00:14:56,085
in doing that.

426
00:14:56,465 --> 00:14:58,545
But if that's not going to happen, and

427
00:14:58,545 --> 00:14:59,205
the child

428
00:14:59,549 --> 00:15:01,709
is not going to be returned, and that's

429
00:15:01,709 --> 00:15:03,549
not gonna be their best placement, we have

430
00:15:03,549 --> 00:15:05,309
to find a safe place for these children

431
00:15:05,309 --> 00:15:07,654
to thrive. I mean, there's there's studies out

432
00:15:07,654 --> 00:15:09,575
there that shows every time a child is

433
00:15:09,575 --> 00:15:11,254
moved from one home to another, and it

434
00:15:11,254 --> 00:15:12,934
could be in the family or out of

435
00:15:12,934 --> 00:15:13,595
the family,

436
00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:16,480
How how much it hurts them and what

437
00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:18,720
trauma that causes. And it help it slows

438
00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:21,519
down their development development, especially for babies and

439
00:15:21,519 --> 00:15:22,019
toddlers.

440
00:15:22,955 --> 00:15:24,315
And so, you know, I have I have

441
00:15:24,315 --> 00:15:25,375
one young boy.

442
00:15:25,835 --> 00:15:27,355
He was around 8 or 9 years old.

443
00:15:27,355 --> 00:15:29,034
And in 3 years, he was in 25

444
00:15:29,034 --> 00:15:32,629
placement. Oh my god. 25. 25 place. Now,

445
00:15:32,629 --> 00:15:34,569
some of those were like weekend placements.

446
00:15:35,350 --> 00:15:37,029
But because of the trauma he had been

447
00:15:37,029 --> 00:15:39,350
through, his behavior was such that a lot

448
00:15:39,350 --> 00:15:40,329
of homes couldn't

449
00:15:40,695 --> 00:15:42,615
couldn't adapt and couldn't adjust with him in

450
00:15:42,615 --> 00:15:44,774
there. The happy ending to his story is

451
00:15:44,774 --> 00:15:46,394
he's adopted with 10 siblings.

452
00:15:47,415 --> 00:15:49,195
And and, you know, it's funny.

453
00:15:49,750 --> 00:15:51,750
As a team, some sometimes we think we

454
00:15:51,750 --> 00:15:53,509
know what's best. And so we kept telling

455
00:15:53,509 --> 00:15:54,870
him, when he's adopted, he has to be

456
00:15:54,870 --> 00:15:56,470
an only child. It has to happen this

457
00:15:56,470 --> 00:15:58,070
way. He needs all the focus of a

458
00:15:58,070 --> 00:15:58,570
person.

459
00:15:58,975 --> 00:16:00,495
And he got put in this short term

460
00:16:00,495 --> 00:16:02,254
placement with these 10 kids at one point

461
00:16:02,254 --> 00:16:03,695
in time, and it ended up being the

462
00:16:03,695 --> 00:16:05,054
best thing that ever happened to him. And

463
00:16:05,054 --> 00:16:07,330
so they ended up adopting him. So, you

464
00:16:07,330 --> 00:16:08,386
know, sometimes we don't know what's best. Praise

465
00:16:08,386 --> 00:16:08,642
praise God. That's that's awesome. I'm sure you

466
00:16:08,673 --> 00:16:09,350
I I know you were

467
00:16:14,024 --> 00:16:16,764
firsthand witness to wonderful stories like that.

468
00:16:17,225 --> 00:16:18,585
And put at the same time, the the

469
00:16:18,585 --> 00:16:19,085
heaviness

470
00:16:19,705 --> 00:16:21,404
of all this and and

471
00:16:21,945 --> 00:16:24,090
trying to navigate it. You know? 8 years

472
00:16:24,090 --> 00:16:26,909
old in 25 different Mhmm. Environments.

473
00:16:28,169 --> 00:16:30,409
And I don't think we know to the

474
00:16:30,409 --> 00:16:30,909
degree,

475
00:16:32,504 --> 00:16:34,904
you know, the the the developmental stage of

476
00:16:34,904 --> 00:16:37,465
children and going through that, what that I

477
00:16:37,465 --> 00:16:38,144
mean, it's

478
00:16:38,585 --> 00:16:40,929
if the long term effects that has on

479
00:16:41,009 --> 00:16:43,250
them and in ways that they probably won't

480
00:16:43,250 --> 00:16:44,789
even understand even when they're

481
00:16:45,169 --> 00:16:47,009
older. But the fact that you can have,

482
00:16:47,009 --> 00:16:49,490
you know, eventually, the the peace that comes

483
00:16:49,490 --> 00:16:49,990
with,

484
00:16:50,445 --> 00:16:52,544
you know, they're in a safe environment where,

485
00:16:52,605 --> 00:16:54,784
you know, lord willing, they're gonna thrive in.

486
00:16:56,204 --> 00:16:57,504
I I can imagine

487
00:16:58,519 --> 00:17:00,920
there's not much more gratify gratification than you

488
00:17:00,920 --> 00:17:03,480
get Yeah. From knowing that, especially going if

489
00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:05,799
the case what does a typical case last?

490
00:17:05,799 --> 00:17:07,259
You're looking at at least

491
00:17:07,634 --> 00:17:08,375
a year?

492
00:17:08,835 --> 00:17:10,994
When I started, I've been with Casa about

493
00:17:10,994 --> 00:17:12,674
five and a half years now. And when

494
00:17:12,674 --> 00:17:15,315
I started, our average case was 9 months

495
00:17:15,315 --> 00:17:16,134
to a year.

496
00:17:17,179 --> 00:17:19,259
It has extended quite a bit. And and

497
00:17:19,259 --> 00:17:22,059
across our state, those cases have extended. And

498
00:17:22,059 --> 00:17:23,679
a lot of it has to do with,

499
00:17:24,139 --> 00:17:26,240
the more knowledge we have about drug use

500
00:17:26,325 --> 00:17:27,684
and the effects that it has on your

501
00:17:27,684 --> 00:17:28,184
brain.

502
00:17:28,644 --> 00:17:29,144
And,

503
00:17:30,005 --> 00:17:31,684
a lot of the brain damage doesn't get

504
00:17:31,684 --> 00:17:33,605
to be repaired until 15 months after you've

505
00:17:33,605 --> 00:17:36,539
been sober. And so we really you try

506
00:17:36,539 --> 00:17:38,240
not to send a child home

507
00:17:38,539 --> 00:17:39,039
prematurely

508
00:17:39,500 --> 00:17:41,500
before you know that the parent is sure

509
00:17:41,500 --> 00:17:43,875
they're sober. Are they gonna stay sober? Is

510
00:17:43,875 --> 00:17:46,048
it gonna last? Sure they found a home.

511
00:17:46,048 --> 00:17:48,221
Are they gonna stay in a home? And

512
00:17:48,221 --> 00:17:50,394
so we're finding out more that it's it's

513
00:17:50,394 --> 00:17:52,970
not just about getting there, it's staying there.

514
00:17:52,970 --> 00:17:54,169
And so with the case, a lot of

515
00:17:54,169 --> 00:17:55,769
times will go a little longer to make

516
00:17:55,769 --> 00:17:57,369
sure that the parents are gonna be able

517
00:17:57,369 --> 00:17:58,109
to stay there.

518
00:17:58,944 --> 00:18:01,664
I had a case with 5 boys. All

519
00:18:01,664 --> 00:18:03,525
5 boys were born in different states.

520
00:18:04,384 --> 00:18:06,065
4 of them had never lived in a

521
00:18:06,065 --> 00:18:08,164
home. They just gone from hotel to hotel

522
00:18:08,609 --> 00:18:10,769
until they came into custody. And they they

523
00:18:10,769 --> 00:18:12,230
lived in a wonderful home.

524
00:18:12,690 --> 00:18:15,089
The foster parents were very supportive, very supportive

525
00:18:15,089 --> 00:18:15,829
of the parents.

526
00:18:16,785 --> 00:18:19,265
The parents had some drug issues, had some

527
00:18:19,265 --> 00:18:20,644
domestic violence issues,

528
00:18:21,345 --> 00:18:21,845
and

529
00:18:22,465 --> 00:18:24,625
I got to watch I will the baby

530
00:18:24,625 --> 00:18:26,244
came home actually from jail

531
00:18:26,850 --> 00:18:29,570
and, to the foster parent, and he was

532
00:18:29,570 --> 00:18:30,930
returned to his parents. I think it was

533
00:18:30,930 --> 00:18:33,250
the day before his second birthday, and all

534
00:18:33,250 --> 00:18:34,789
5 boys went back. Now

535
00:18:35,355 --> 00:18:37,034
some people look at it, the foster home

536
00:18:37,034 --> 00:18:39,514
they were in, they had, it was large,

537
00:18:39,514 --> 00:18:41,755
it was big family support, there was a

538
00:18:41,755 --> 00:18:44,400
beautiful home, all these kind of things. And

539
00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:46,240
the parents ended up getting up back on

540
00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:46,900
their feet

541
00:18:47,200 --> 00:18:49,779
in a small, very small 2 bedroom apartment,

542
00:18:50,559 --> 00:18:51,059
and,

543
00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:53,575
working jobs and being able to to take

544
00:18:53,575 --> 00:18:55,255
care of their children. And so some people

545
00:18:55,255 --> 00:18:56,234
have a hard time

546
00:18:56,934 --> 00:18:58,714
which one which atmosphere is better.

547
00:18:59,095 --> 00:19:01,494
Is this nice home better or is this

548
00:19:01,494 --> 00:19:03,960
small 2 bedroom apartment with parents better? And

549
00:19:03,960 --> 00:19:05,319
our answer is, if you can have your

550
00:19:05,319 --> 00:19:07,319
connection with your parents, that's always what's best

551
00:19:07,319 --> 00:19:08,140
for your children.

552
00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:10,299
This family is thriving.

553
00:19:10,759 --> 00:19:13,304
And the great thing about Casa is our

554
00:19:13,304 --> 00:19:15,464
case closed with them. They've been home with

555
00:19:15,464 --> 00:19:17,964
the parents, they've been reunified, they're doing great.

556
00:19:18,105 --> 00:19:19,464
And mom reached out to me the other

557
00:19:19,464 --> 00:19:21,065
day, and dad is in the hospital. He's

558
00:19:21,065 --> 00:19:22,750
been in the hospital for 2 weeks. She

559
00:19:22,750 --> 00:19:24,210
just needed a little support,

560
00:19:24,590 --> 00:19:26,509
and we were able to get some supports

561
00:19:26,509 --> 00:19:28,830
to her. And I always tell them, you

562
00:19:28,830 --> 00:19:30,515
don't believe me, but if you'll call us,

563
00:19:30,515 --> 00:19:32,434
we'll help you. And sure enough, she did.

564
00:19:32,434 --> 00:19:33,955
And and so I went picked her up.

565
00:19:33,955 --> 00:19:35,394
I took her to Walmart. We got her

566
00:19:35,394 --> 00:19:36,055
some groceries.

567
00:19:36,835 --> 00:19:38,549
And she at the the end, she hugged

568
00:19:38,549 --> 00:19:39,669
me and she said, thank you. I said,

569
00:19:39,669 --> 00:19:40,789
see, I told you. All you have to

570
00:19:40,789 --> 00:19:42,630
do is ask. And because they don't have

571
00:19:42,630 --> 00:19:43,849
family support here.

572
00:19:44,230 --> 00:19:46,309
And, it was it was an amazing thing

573
00:19:46,309 --> 00:19:47,690
to watch her, you know.

574
00:19:48,694 --> 00:19:50,214
It was hard to ask for help. It's

575
00:19:50,214 --> 00:19:51,575
hard for any of us to ask for

576
00:19:51,575 --> 00:19:53,414
help. Yeah. And but she knew for her

577
00:19:53,414 --> 00:19:55,309
kid's sake, she had to. And so that

578
00:19:55,309 --> 00:19:57,549
was something something very different for her, and

579
00:19:57,549 --> 00:19:59,390
and that was an amazing story too to

580
00:19:59,390 --> 00:20:01,309
be able to continue. So that was one

581
00:20:01,309 --> 00:20:02,829
of the questions I wanted to ask you.

582
00:20:02,829 --> 00:20:04,274
You know, you you go through the court

583
00:20:04,274 --> 00:20:06,214
process, and once that gets resolved

584
00:20:06,595 --> 00:20:08,355
and, say, a positive way like that where

585
00:20:08,355 --> 00:20:09,494
there is reunification,

586
00:20:10,409 --> 00:20:12,730
does it just cease there, or is there

587
00:20:12,730 --> 00:20:13,549
still availability,

588
00:20:14,089 --> 00:20:16,329
you know, through CASA to to continue to

589
00:20:16,329 --> 00:20:18,434
help these families if they need that support,

590
00:20:18,434 --> 00:20:19,875
and it sounds like, yes, that is the

591
00:20:19,875 --> 00:20:21,634
case. They just need to reach out, which

592
00:20:21,634 --> 00:20:23,315
is easier said than done a lot of

593
00:20:23,315 --> 00:20:23,815
times.

594
00:20:25,075 --> 00:20:27,990
But that that help is there if they

595
00:20:28,210 --> 00:20:30,210
need or want it, it sounds like. Yeah.

596
00:20:30,210 --> 00:20:31,890
I worked for the state of Tennessee for

597
00:20:31,890 --> 00:20:33,269
9 for 19 years.

598
00:20:33,884 --> 00:20:36,784
And, I worked with individuals with disabilities

599
00:20:37,164 --> 00:20:39,164
and and, you know, our rule was you

600
00:20:39,164 --> 00:20:41,085
don't share personal emails, you don't share personal

601
00:20:41,085 --> 00:20:43,259
Facebook pages, you don't do anything. Even after

602
00:20:43,259 --> 00:20:44,859
they leave here, you can't because they may

603
00:20:44,859 --> 00:20:45,599
come back.

604
00:20:45,900 --> 00:20:47,500
And it it was hard to do a

605
00:20:47,500 --> 00:20:48,880
lot of follow-up. Here,

606
00:20:49,315 --> 00:20:50,695
my advocates are volunteers.

607
00:20:51,394 --> 00:20:53,634
I don't I don't put those parameters on

608
00:20:53,634 --> 00:20:54,934
them. We actually have,

609
00:20:55,795 --> 00:20:57,474
a man who was an advocate for 2

610
00:20:57,474 --> 00:20:58,134
little boys.

611
00:20:58,730 --> 00:21:00,409
He came on to the cases that they

612
00:21:00,409 --> 00:21:02,730
had, been exposed to drugs. They had a

613
00:21:02,730 --> 00:21:04,169
lot of dental work that had to be

614
00:21:04,169 --> 00:21:06,169
done. There was a lot of trauma behaviors

615
00:21:06,169 --> 00:21:07,644
that had to be dealt with. They went

616
00:21:07,644 --> 00:21:09,404
to a wonderful foster home, and they were

617
00:21:09,404 --> 00:21:11,085
in that foster home for, I think, close

618
00:21:11,085 --> 00:21:13,005
to 3 years before they were finally adopted

619
00:21:13,005 --> 00:21:14,144
by that foster home.

620
00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:16,460
The foster parents' family,

621
00:21:16,839 --> 00:21:18,220
most of them live in Florida.

622
00:21:18,839 --> 00:21:21,640
The advocates' family, they live up north. So

623
00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:23,400
they really have become they go on family

624
00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:24,380
vacations together.

625
00:21:25,375 --> 00:21:27,375
They go to the sounds games together. They

626
00:21:27,375 --> 00:21:29,215
do as they've kind of become like the

627
00:21:29,215 --> 00:21:30,115
adopted grandparents

628
00:21:30,575 --> 00:21:32,095
to these 2 little boys, which has been

629
00:21:32,095 --> 00:21:33,929
really cool to see. And not not every

630
00:21:33,929 --> 00:21:35,630
relationship turns out that way.

631
00:21:36,329 --> 00:21:38,009
You know, especially if they're reunified with the

632
00:21:38,009 --> 00:21:39,289
parents, some of them are like, look, we

633
00:21:39,289 --> 00:21:41,244
want everybody out of our life. You're this

634
00:21:41,244 --> 00:21:42,765
has been, you know, and they just want

635
00:21:42,765 --> 00:21:45,005
to do their own thing. But, yes, there

636
00:21:45,005 --> 00:21:48,065
is that opportunity because they're at they're volunteers.

637
00:21:48,204 --> 00:21:50,125
My advocates are volunteers that there is the

638
00:21:50,125 --> 00:21:52,529
opportunity to contain maintain relationships

639
00:21:53,390 --> 00:21:55,230
and always if they'll call back. But even

640
00:21:55,230 --> 00:21:56,990
the courts, when we close their cases, the

641
00:21:56,990 --> 00:21:57,970
courts will say,

642
00:21:58,494 --> 00:22:00,815
don't let this get that bad again. Call

643
00:22:00,815 --> 00:22:02,035
us if you need help.

644
00:22:02,654 --> 00:22:03,855
So that we can be able to we'd

645
00:22:03,855 --> 00:22:05,934
rather the kids and the family get support

646
00:22:05,934 --> 00:22:07,679
and help than come back into the system.

647
00:22:07,679 --> 00:22:09,299
Oh, which which I

648
00:22:09,679 --> 00:22:11,679
in my opinion for what it's worth, I

649
00:22:11,679 --> 00:22:13,700
think that's how it should be, you know,

650
00:22:13,839 --> 00:22:14,275
if

651
00:22:14,755 --> 00:22:16,434
when you're talking about a a state government

652
00:22:16,434 --> 00:22:17,955
situation, you know, you get through the court

653
00:22:17,955 --> 00:22:20,355
process, then contact's over, we're done. Right. It's

654
00:22:20,355 --> 00:22:22,434
not done. It's not done by a long

655
00:22:22,434 --> 00:22:23,654
shot. I mean, these people,

656
00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:25,079
not all of them, but a lot of

657
00:22:25,079 --> 00:22:25,819
these people

658
00:22:26,599 --> 00:22:28,519
still even if they don't need the the

659
00:22:28,519 --> 00:22:29,019
help,

660
00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:31,875
they need to know that they have support

661
00:22:31,954 --> 00:22:34,115
behind them. If there's a there's a potential

662
00:22:34,115 --> 00:22:36,515
safety net there, if need be, just reach

663
00:22:36,515 --> 00:22:38,275
out to us and let us know instead

664
00:22:38,275 --> 00:22:40,035
of the mentality like, well, you we got

665
00:22:40,035 --> 00:22:41,549
you through your own your own now. You

666
00:22:41,549 --> 00:22:42,450
know what I mean?

667
00:22:43,950 --> 00:22:46,029
Sometimes we have to be careful because we

668
00:22:46,029 --> 00:22:48,849
put so many expectations on these parents, unrealistic

669
00:22:49,150 --> 00:22:50,474
expectations. I I mean, I have a 4

670
00:22:50,474 --> 00:22:52,494
year old, and sometimes I'll look and say,

671
00:22:52,794 --> 00:22:54,394
if that was me with my 4 year

672
00:22:54,394 --> 00:22:55,994
old and they were asking me to go

673
00:22:55,994 --> 00:22:58,589
to 5 classes every week and, you know,

674
00:22:58,589 --> 00:23:01,170
do these different things. Could I maintain that?

675
00:23:01,789 --> 00:23:02,289
And

676
00:23:02,990 --> 00:23:04,589
we had a we had a family. They

677
00:23:04,589 --> 00:23:06,769
had we had 3 children in foster care.

678
00:23:07,144 --> 00:23:08,984
And we ended up giving them back to

679
00:23:08,984 --> 00:23:11,244
the family for a trial home visit

680
00:23:11,545 --> 00:23:13,325
within a matter of about 4 hours.

681
00:23:13,865 --> 00:23:15,224
They had no clue that we were this

682
00:23:15,224 --> 00:23:16,659
was happening. It was a it was a

683
00:23:16,659 --> 00:23:18,419
very bad situation and this was gonna be

684
00:23:18,419 --> 00:23:20,279
the least drastic alternative and

685
00:23:20,980 --> 00:23:22,419
I said, y'all, if we don't get behind

686
00:23:22,419 --> 00:23:25,275
them and help, they can't succeed. You can't

687
00:23:25,275 --> 00:23:27,275
say you're getting 3 children back in your

688
00:23:27,275 --> 00:23:28,575
home in 4 hours.

689
00:23:29,674 --> 00:23:30,670
Go go do it.

690
00:23:31,070 --> 00:23:32,850
And so, I got the community,

691
00:23:33,390 --> 00:23:35,230
we got them beds, we got them car

692
00:23:35,230 --> 00:23:37,470
seats, we got them hygiene stuff, we got

693
00:23:37,470 --> 00:23:39,390
some extra food until they could figure out

694
00:23:39,390 --> 00:23:42,025
their finances to be able whatever food stamps

695
00:23:42,025 --> 00:23:43,464
gonna look like now. What is this gonna

696
00:23:43,464 --> 00:23:45,164
look like? How do we make this stretch?

697
00:23:45,785 --> 00:23:47,670
Because otherwise, we were setting them up for

698
00:23:47,750 --> 00:23:49,750
complete failure, and that does not do anybody

699
00:23:49,750 --> 00:23:51,990
good, especially the kids. The kids going back

700
00:23:51,990 --> 00:23:53,350
into the system and it's like, well, here

701
00:23:53,350 --> 00:23:55,430
you go. You're left to your own vices,

702
00:23:55,430 --> 00:23:57,394
that that's not gonna turn out well. Right.

703
00:23:57,394 --> 00:23:58,015
Just increasing

704
00:23:58,474 --> 00:24:00,795
the chances of success and doing little things

705
00:24:00,795 --> 00:24:01,454
like that.

706
00:24:02,154 --> 00:24:04,394
Like getting in beds. I mean, it's so

707
00:24:04,394 --> 00:24:06,234
simple, but it's so profound at the same

708
00:24:06,234 --> 00:24:07,519
time. Or if a child is put back

709
00:24:07,519 --> 00:24:09,620
in a situation, another bed to sleep in,

710
00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:12,000
I mean, it's just it it's not looking

711
00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:13,759
good at that point. So, I mean, that

712
00:24:13,840 --> 00:24:16,184
that's so wonderful to hear about from from

713
00:24:16,184 --> 00:24:18,024
that side of it. Now you said you

714
00:24:18,024 --> 00:24:20,744
worked at the state for 16 years, 19

715
00:24:20,744 --> 00:24:21,244
years.

716
00:24:22,105 --> 00:24:23,784
So, overall, you know, how did you get

717
00:24:23,784 --> 00:24:26,000
into this line of work? Did you always

718
00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:27,680
know from a young age that you wanted

719
00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:29,759
to to pursue this kind of thing? Or

720
00:24:29,759 --> 00:24:31,200
how how did this all come about for

721
00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:32,960
you? It was I would say it was

722
00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:34,400
accidental, but it wasn't. It was a god

723
00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:34,900
thing.

724
00:24:35,664 --> 00:24:37,904
I worked for 19 years. Most of 17

725
00:24:37,904 --> 00:24:39,585
of that was with adults with disabilities at

726
00:24:39,585 --> 00:24:42,065
a residential facility in Smyrna. I drove from

727
00:24:42,065 --> 00:24:44,325
Springfield to Smyrna every day for 17 years.

728
00:24:44,740 --> 00:24:46,899
And then the last couple years, I worked

729
00:24:46,899 --> 00:24:47,399
with,

730
00:24:48,659 --> 00:24:50,500
at risk youth at a it was kinda

731
00:24:50,500 --> 00:24:52,259
like a military school. And so I was

732
00:24:52,259 --> 00:24:54,085
ready to change something, change

733
00:24:54,465 --> 00:24:56,164
my environment and quit driving.

734
00:24:56,545 --> 00:24:58,384
And I wanted something in Springfield. So I

735
00:24:58,384 --> 00:25:00,225
heard that the Casa position was open at

736
00:25:00,225 --> 00:25:02,565
that time, it was the advocate coordinator position.

737
00:25:03,259 --> 00:25:05,259
And so I interviewed and I came. I

738
00:25:05,259 --> 00:25:07,180
didn't know a lot about nonprofit world. I

739
00:25:07,180 --> 00:25:08,940
didn't know a lot about this, and I

740
00:25:08,940 --> 00:25:11,019
have learned and it was a god thing.

741
00:25:11,019 --> 00:25:12,644
This I love it. I love where we

742
00:25:12,644 --> 00:25:13,865
are. I love what we're doing.

743
00:25:14,164 --> 00:25:16,325
We have grown exponentially in the past five

744
00:25:16,325 --> 00:25:17,224
and a half years,

745
00:25:18,164 --> 00:25:18,664
and,

746
00:25:19,045 --> 00:25:20,424
it's it's a great thing.

747
00:25:21,450 --> 00:25:23,450
So, you know, commute, cut down on the

748
00:25:23,450 --> 00:25:25,609
commute Mhmm. For sure. And, you know, the

749
00:25:25,609 --> 00:25:27,815
fact are you from Rock, Michigan? I was.

750
00:25:27,815 --> 00:25:29,095
I moved here when I was 10 weeks

751
00:25:29,095 --> 00:25:30,454
old. I can't say I was born and

752
00:25:30,454 --> 00:25:32,134
raised, but I was born and raised in

753
00:25:32,134 --> 00:25:34,534
Springfield. Okay. My daddy was the band director

754
00:25:34,534 --> 00:25:36,375
at Springfield High School for 30 years. And

755
00:25:36,375 --> 00:25:38,759
no kidding. Yeah. Alright. So, I mean, you

756
00:25:38,759 --> 00:25:39,259
were

757
00:25:39,799 --> 00:25:41,639
10 weeks old. Sure. But, yeah, you're you're

758
00:25:41,639 --> 00:25:43,480
born you're born and raised. Yeah. You know?

759
00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:46,025
So the fact you could serve your community

760
00:25:46,025 --> 00:25:47,305
in that way, I'm sure that meant a

761
00:25:47,305 --> 00:25:48,445
lot to It does.

762
00:25:49,065 --> 00:25:50,904
So what what year would that have been

763
00:25:50,904 --> 00:25:53,325
when you came home with with Casa? 2019.

764
00:25:54,529 --> 00:25:55,029
2019.

765
00:25:55,490 --> 00:25:57,570
And was it was it all way you

766
00:25:57,570 --> 00:25:59,809
interviewed for the what not the executive director,

767
00:25:59,809 --> 00:26:00,210
but the

768
00:26:00,850 --> 00:26:03,110
Advocate coordinator. We have 2 paid positions,

769
00:26:04,115 --> 00:26:05,494
coordinator and the executive director.

770
00:26:05,875 --> 00:26:08,515
Okay. So when did you go from the

771
00:26:08,515 --> 00:26:11,154
advocate coordinator to the role you're in now?

772
00:26:11,154 --> 00:26:13,049
About 3 years ago. Okay.

773
00:26:13,369 --> 00:26:15,450
Kristen King was the advocate coordinator. I mean,

774
00:26:15,450 --> 00:26:16,809
I was at the executive director at the

775
00:26:16,809 --> 00:26:19,289
time. And when she left, to pursue other

776
00:26:19,289 --> 00:26:21,130
ways, then I moved up into the executive

777
00:26:21,130 --> 00:26:22,029
director position.

778
00:26:22,554 --> 00:26:24,154
And I've been there for a little over

779
00:26:24,154 --> 00:26:26,394
3 years, I think. So, you know, day

780
00:26:26,394 --> 00:26:28,234
to day for you, I'm sure it's you

781
00:26:28,234 --> 00:26:30,095
you gotta wear a lot of different hats.

782
00:26:30,234 --> 00:26:31,694
I'm quite sure. We do.

783
00:26:32,360 --> 00:26:34,860
But, you know, the it's nonprofit organization.

784
00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:36,380
Your

785
00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:37,740
success

786
00:26:38,039 --> 00:26:39,740
is dependent on volunteers

787
00:26:40,039 --> 00:26:41,015
Mhmm. For this. And how

788
00:26:41,734 --> 00:26:43,194
which which are the advocates

789
00:26:43,575 --> 00:26:44,315
for the program.

790
00:26:44,694 --> 00:26:46,934
How many how many advocates do you currently

791
00:26:46,934 --> 00:26:49,220
have? We have 38 right now. We start

792
00:26:49,220 --> 00:26:50,660
about five and a half years ago when

793
00:26:50,660 --> 00:26:52,420
I started. We had 8 to 10 that

794
00:26:52,420 --> 00:26:53,160
were active,

795
00:26:53,539 --> 00:26:55,480
and we have 38 now. So that's

796
00:26:55,779 --> 00:26:56,279
phenomenal

797
00:26:56,660 --> 00:26:57,799
to grow that much.

798
00:26:58,565 --> 00:27:00,345
We offer our our advocates

799
00:27:01,924 --> 00:27:04,244
range from I have one that, is an

800
00:27:04,244 --> 00:27:05,625
assistant district attorney.

801
00:27:05,940 --> 00:27:08,019
I have one a couple who have retired.

802
00:27:08,019 --> 00:27:10,119
One's retired from working for Shell for

803
00:27:10,420 --> 00:27:11,240
40 years.

804
00:27:11,940 --> 00:27:14,339
I have, people who are still working full

805
00:27:14,339 --> 00:27:14,839
time.

806
00:27:15,214 --> 00:27:17,855
I have, people who are working part time,

807
00:27:17,855 --> 00:27:18,355
retired,

808
00:27:18,734 --> 00:27:20,835
all different you don't have to have any

809
00:27:21,214 --> 00:27:21,714
credentials

810
00:27:22,255 --> 00:27:23,819
before you come in. All you have to

811
00:27:23,819 --> 00:27:25,200
be is a willing person.

812
00:27:26,059 --> 00:27:28,339
I have individuals who are managers at Sonic.

813
00:27:28,339 --> 00:27:30,380
I have people who are hairdressers. I have

814
00:27:30,380 --> 00:27:32,299
all different kinds from all different walks of

815
00:27:32,299 --> 00:27:34,994
life. I have 3 advocates who grew up

816
00:27:34,994 --> 00:27:36,295
in the foster care system.

817
00:27:37,075 --> 00:27:38,595
I have some that didn't have any clue

818
00:27:38,595 --> 00:27:40,035
what they were signing up for, but they

819
00:27:40,035 --> 00:27:41,714
wanted to do something in the community and

820
00:27:41,714 --> 00:27:43,400
they got involved and they're doing a phenomenal

821
00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:46,279
job. So All walks of life. Absolutely. And

822
00:27:46,279 --> 00:27:47,740
that's what makes us unique.

823
00:27:48,519 --> 00:27:49,019
Because

824
00:27:49,400 --> 00:27:51,740
not everybody can connect to every kid.

825
00:27:52,045 --> 00:27:53,565
And so when we get a case, I

826
00:27:53,565 --> 00:27:55,164
look at the case and say, now which

827
00:27:55,164 --> 00:27:56,924
advocate do I think will connect the best?

828
00:27:56,924 --> 00:27:58,445
You know, there's some parents that need a

829
00:27:58,445 --> 00:28:00,305
little bit of a a harder,

830
00:28:01,279 --> 00:28:01,940
I won't

831
00:28:02,559 --> 00:28:05,200
harder talking to you sometimes, and some advocates

832
00:28:05,200 --> 00:28:07,619
are able to do that easier than others.

833
00:28:07,680 --> 00:28:09,599
And there's some that just need a gentle,

834
00:28:09,599 --> 00:28:11,704
loving arm to help push them along, and

835
00:28:11,704 --> 00:28:14,025
some advocates are better at that. So when

836
00:28:14,025 --> 00:28:16,204
whenever you receive a case, you

837
00:28:16,505 --> 00:28:18,549
study it, go over it, look at I'm

838
00:28:18,549 --> 00:28:20,309
sure you you may meet with the parents

839
00:28:20,309 --> 00:28:22,309
or the child perhaps. I'm not I'm not

840
00:28:22,309 --> 00:28:23,990
sure how that works, but you analyze it

841
00:28:23,990 --> 00:28:25,609
and say, okay, out of my 38,

842
00:28:26,070 --> 00:28:28,144
I think this person would be a great

843
00:28:28,144 --> 00:28:30,005
candidate Absolutely. For this case.

844
00:28:30,545 --> 00:28:31,825
And I even go over it with them.

845
00:28:31,825 --> 00:28:33,265
I had a case the other day that

846
00:28:33,265 --> 00:28:35,140
is a it's a it's a difficult case,

847
00:28:35,378 --> 00:28:37,280
in a lot of ways. And so I

848
00:28:37,280 --> 00:28:39,182
called an advocate and said, hey hey, what

849
00:28:39,182 --> 00:28:41,084
are you thinking? And they said, I can't

850
00:28:41,084 --> 00:28:42,986
do it. I I can't do that one.

851
00:28:42,986 --> 00:28:44,994
Give me the next one. And that's

852
00:28:45,375 --> 00:28:47,775
okay. You know what? It's some of them

853
00:28:47,775 --> 00:28:50,015
are harder than others. And, you know, if

854
00:28:50,015 --> 00:28:50,255
you have

855
00:28:51,269 --> 00:28:52,869
we can all sit here and say we

856
00:28:52,869 --> 00:28:55,029
don't have biases, but we do. Sure. And

857
00:28:55,029 --> 00:28:57,029
so, you know, there's some cases that are

858
00:28:57,029 --> 00:28:59,945
easier than others and some some life experiences

859
00:29:00,164 --> 00:29:02,404
that make it there are trigger points, and

860
00:29:02,404 --> 00:29:03,924
we need to know what our trigger points

861
00:29:03,924 --> 00:29:05,705
are and that we can't handle that. Absolutely.

862
00:29:06,085 --> 00:29:08,164
And I can if we have 38 right

863
00:29:08,164 --> 00:29:08,640
now,

864
00:29:09,359 --> 00:29:11,039
and I I think you said you try

865
00:29:11,039 --> 00:29:12,320
to have them on one case at a

866
00:29:12,320 --> 00:29:14,640
time if possible, but is that not always

867
00:29:14,640 --> 00:29:17,039
the case? Is sometimes Sometimes, like, I have

868
00:29:17,039 --> 00:29:18,984
a couple that are retired and have extra

869
00:29:18,984 --> 00:29:20,904
time, so they'll be on they'll take maybe

870
00:29:20,904 --> 00:29:23,785
2 cases. Mhmm. But 2 is usually my

871
00:29:23,785 --> 00:29:25,244
max for anybody.

872
00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:28,400
I mean, at that point, you're just you're

873
00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:31,119
spread too mentally. You're spread too thin. You're

874
00:29:31,119 --> 00:29:32,559
trying to take care of all this and

875
00:29:32,559 --> 00:29:33,539
maintain this,

876
00:29:34,240 --> 00:29:36,304
this role that you're in. If you 4

877
00:29:36,304 --> 00:29:37,984
or 5 different cases, you just you can't

878
00:29:37,984 --> 00:29:40,224
do it. Right. It's not feasible possible. So

879
00:29:40,224 --> 00:29:43,184
the percentage of cases that, Casa was able

880
00:29:43,184 --> 00:29:44,804
to take on in Robertson County

881
00:29:45,339 --> 00:29:47,279
last year, it shipped 7 73%.

882
00:29:48,059 --> 00:29:48,559
73%.

883
00:29:49,339 --> 00:29:50,940
It took 80 we had we had 81

884
00:29:50,940 --> 00:29:52,559
children that we served last year.

885
00:29:52,940 --> 00:29:54,000
81 kids

886
00:29:54,785 --> 00:29:56,005
that made up 73%

887
00:29:56,305 --> 00:29:59,184
of these cases. Okay. So the 30 some

888
00:29:59,184 --> 00:30:01,285
odd percent that couldn't be, you know,

889
00:30:01,809 --> 00:30:04,690
represented. What's what's the limiting factor there for

890
00:30:04,690 --> 00:30:05,190
you?

891
00:30:05,650 --> 00:30:07,029
Availability of people.

892
00:30:07,330 --> 00:30:09,090
The more advocates that we have, the more

893
00:30:09,090 --> 00:30:10,230
cases we can serve.

894
00:30:12,724 --> 00:30:14,325
You know, like I said, there are a

895
00:30:14,325 --> 00:30:16,984
couple cases that come through that she knows

896
00:30:17,605 --> 00:30:19,204
in 2 or 3 months, this case is

897
00:30:19,204 --> 00:30:21,440
probably gonna be resolved. It's, you know, it's

898
00:30:21,740 --> 00:30:22,240
just

899
00:30:22,619 --> 00:30:25,500
there's a difference in sometimes intentional abuse and

900
00:30:25,500 --> 00:30:28,320
neglect, and sometimes there truly is some accidental

901
00:30:28,380 --> 00:30:30,134
abuse and neglect. You know, you just got

902
00:30:30,134 --> 00:30:30,634
into

903
00:30:31,174 --> 00:30:32,855
you made a wrong decision, you looked to

904
00:30:32,855 --> 00:30:34,375
the wrong way at the wrong time, something

905
00:30:34,375 --> 00:30:36,134
can happen and and it's gonna be fairly

906
00:30:36,134 --> 00:30:38,730
easily resolved. So we don't necessarily assign an

907
00:30:38,730 --> 00:30:40,429
advocate because by the time they've

908
00:30:40,970 --> 00:30:42,490
got started, it would be time to close

909
00:30:42,490 --> 00:30:44,009
the case and so we try to save

910
00:30:44,009 --> 00:30:46,424
the advocates for the longer cases. Not tap

911
00:30:46,424 --> 00:30:49,144
your resources when you look at, a potential

912
00:30:49,144 --> 00:30:51,085
case that you can clearly see, hey.

913
00:30:51,865 --> 00:30:53,980
Someone just made a a a bad who

914
00:30:53,980 --> 00:30:55,660
hadn't made a bad decision that could result

915
00:30:55,660 --> 00:30:56,960
in something like that. It's

916
00:30:57,420 --> 00:30:57,819
very,

917
00:30:59,339 --> 00:31:00,240
easy to

918
00:31:00,700 --> 00:31:02,394
differentiate between that and

919
00:31:02,875 --> 00:31:03,375
intentional

920
00:31:03,914 --> 00:31:06,654
intentional abuse based on the evidence. Right.

921
00:31:07,515 --> 00:31:08,174
So Judge

922
00:31:08,555 --> 00:31:09,535
Stark Mhmm.

923
00:31:09,940 --> 00:31:11,619
So she looks at this and does she

924
00:31:11,619 --> 00:31:13,460
contact you directly and say, hey. What do

925
00:31:13,460 --> 00:31:14,660
you, you know, what do you think about

926
00:31:14,660 --> 00:31:16,500
this? Do you From the bench, she orders

927
00:31:16,500 --> 00:31:18,795
us. She'll she when when the case comes

928
00:31:18,795 --> 00:31:20,575
before her for the first time, typically,

929
00:31:21,515 --> 00:31:23,674
she will say, I'm appointing this person as

930
00:31:23,674 --> 00:31:25,914
father's attorney, this person as mom's attorney, I

931
00:31:25,914 --> 00:31:28,029
will appoint this person as the child's guardian

932
00:31:28,029 --> 00:31:29,630
ad litem, and I'm appointing Casa to the

933
00:31:29,630 --> 00:31:31,309
case. And we get the court the bench

934
00:31:31,309 --> 00:31:33,089
order and then we get going from there.

935
00:31:33,605 --> 00:31:36,005
Now there have been times, even just recently,

936
00:31:36,005 --> 00:31:37,924
we had a case that had already been

937
00:31:37,924 --> 00:31:39,464
in the system for a little while,

938
00:31:39,765 --> 00:31:41,125
but it was really taking up a lot

939
00:31:41,125 --> 00:31:43,170
of DCS's time. It was really getting fairly

940
00:31:43,410 --> 00:31:45,570
complicated. And so DCS went to the judge

941
00:31:45,570 --> 00:31:46,850
and said, hey, can you appoint us a

942
00:31:46,850 --> 00:31:48,289
Casa on here so we can have some

943
00:31:48,289 --> 00:31:49,830
extra hands on this case?

944
00:31:50,289 --> 00:31:52,369
We've had attorneys that have gone and said,

945
00:31:52,369 --> 00:31:54,045
hey, you know, we're really having a hard

946
00:31:54,045 --> 00:31:55,884
time with seeing eye to eye on some

947
00:31:55,884 --> 00:31:57,884
things. We feel like we need another mutual

948
00:31:57,884 --> 00:32:00,045
party party in here. Can can you assign

949
00:32:00,045 --> 00:32:00,944
Casa? And,

950
00:32:01,329 --> 00:32:02,849
so that we've had been appointed that way

951
00:32:02,849 --> 00:32:04,930
as well. Okay. But the magistrate has to

952
00:32:04,930 --> 00:32:06,930
sign off on that. And it's it's all

953
00:32:06,930 --> 00:32:08,549
dependent on availability

954
00:32:09,335 --> 00:32:11,335
of the advocates and the number of advocates

955
00:32:11,335 --> 00:32:12,474
that you have. So

956
00:32:13,174 --> 00:32:15,674
if someone is interested in becoming an advocate,

957
00:32:15,734 --> 00:32:17,950
what are the requirements? I'm so glad you

958
00:32:17,950 --> 00:32:18,450
asked.

959
00:32:19,470 --> 00:32:21,809
We usually do 2 classes a year.

960
00:32:22,349 --> 00:32:24,349
That is the most time consuming part of

961
00:32:24,349 --> 00:32:26,190
being an advocate. They have to have 30

962
00:32:26,190 --> 00:32:26,974
hours of training.

963
00:32:27,535 --> 00:32:28,894
Which is why I say you don't have

964
00:32:28,894 --> 00:32:30,894
to have any knowledge of anything coming in.

965
00:32:30,894 --> 00:32:32,194
We train everybody

966
00:32:32,815 --> 00:32:33,315
from

967
00:32:33,855 --> 00:32:36,869
how to talk to children, developmental stages of

968
00:32:36,869 --> 00:32:37,369
children,

969
00:32:37,990 --> 00:32:40,470
what minimal living is, because you don't have

970
00:32:40,470 --> 00:32:41,909
to have a fancy house and a car

971
00:32:41,909 --> 00:32:43,829
and electricity to be a good home and

972
00:32:43,829 --> 00:32:44,454
good parents.

973
00:32:45,494 --> 00:32:47,174
And so we take the advocates and go

974
00:32:47,174 --> 00:32:48,554
through a 30 hour training.

975
00:32:49,174 --> 00:32:50,714
Once we finish that,

976
00:32:51,789 --> 00:32:53,869
most of their scheduling is on their own,

977
00:32:53,869 --> 00:32:55,710
and we usually ask that they do about

978
00:32:55,710 --> 00:32:58,429
10 hours a month on a case. So

979
00:32:58,429 --> 00:33:00,154
to get started, all you have do is

980
00:33:00,154 --> 00:33:01,755
reach out to us and say, I wanna

981
00:33:01,755 --> 00:33:03,934
become an advocate. They do a background check.

982
00:33:04,075 --> 00:33:06,315
There's a short application process. We have to

983
00:33:06,315 --> 00:33:07,434
have a couple, res

984
00:33:08,470 --> 00:33:08,970
not

985
00:33:10,630 --> 00:33:13,049
resumes, references. Reference. There you go.

986
00:33:14,230 --> 00:33:17,265
References just to say, yes, they're an outstanding

987
00:33:17,265 --> 00:33:18,785
person. I think they'll do a good job

988
00:33:18,785 --> 00:33:19,444
on this.

989
00:33:19,744 --> 00:33:21,505
And then we get started in class. You

990
00:33:21,505 --> 00:33:22,005
know,

991
00:33:23,184 --> 00:33:25,105
we are selective in that we want to

992
00:33:25,105 --> 00:33:26,490
make sure they're going to be a good

993
00:33:26,490 --> 00:33:28,029
job for our our kids.

994
00:33:28,410 --> 00:33:30,509
But at the same time, we also recognize

995
00:33:30,730 --> 00:33:31,230
that

996
00:33:31,609 --> 00:33:34,509
everybody can connect with somebody and contribute something.

997
00:33:34,784 --> 00:33:36,304
So if people are willing to come to

998
00:33:36,304 --> 00:33:36,964
our classes,

999
00:33:37,345 --> 00:33:39,265
we're willing to to give it a try.

1000
00:33:39,265 --> 00:33:40,784
I I will be honest, I had one

1001
00:33:40,784 --> 00:33:42,944
interview where in the interview process, I was

1002
00:33:42,944 --> 00:33:43,444
like,

1003
00:33:43,899 --> 00:33:45,740
this lady is never gonna make it. But

1004
00:33:45,740 --> 00:33:47,259
let's let her go through training and let's

1005
00:33:47,259 --> 00:33:48,700
just see. And she's turned out to be

1006
00:33:48,700 --> 00:33:50,619
one of my best advocates. No kidding. Yeah.

1007
00:33:50,619 --> 00:33:52,460
You know, I think I think she was

1008
00:33:52,460 --> 00:33:54,984
nervous when we met with her and and

1009
00:33:54,984 --> 00:33:56,664
we we call it an interview, but it's

1010
00:33:56,664 --> 00:33:58,345
really a get to know you. Let's just

1011
00:33:58,345 --> 00:34:00,345
kind of what have you been through? What

1012
00:34:00,345 --> 00:34:01,730
have you saying? Do you know anything about

1013
00:34:01,730 --> 00:34:03,109
what you're signing up for?

1014
00:34:03,809 --> 00:34:05,089
What kind of cases do you think you

1015
00:34:05,089 --> 00:34:06,690
can handle and you can't handle? That kind

1016
00:34:06,690 --> 00:34:07,990
of thing. So it's not really

1017
00:34:08,289 --> 00:34:09,989
a job interview per se.

1018
00:34:10,385 --> 00:34:11,985
And she ended up being one of the

1019
00:34:11,985 --> 00:34:14,304
best ones. And I'm sure it's it's there's

1020
00:34:14,304 --> 00:34:17,125
times like that where maybe people can't connect

1021
00:34:17,265 --> 00:34:17,765
with

1022
00:34:18,410 --> 00:34:20,650
other adults that well, but they can connect

1023
00:34:20,650 --> 00:34:23,369
with children better Right. Perhaps. You know, have

1024
00:34:23,369 --> 00:34:24,910
a gift in that way. Mhmm.

1025
00:34:25,289 --> 00:34:26,829
So, you know, tangibly,

1026
00:34:27,735 --> 00:34:29,434
for one of these advocates,

1027
00:34:31,335 --> 00:34:33,335
I'm sure every, you know, court case is

1028
00:34:33,335 --> 00:34:34,855
different, but what does it look like for

1029
00:34:34,855 --> 00:34:37,260
the obviously, they have to be at the

1030
00:34:37,260 --> 00:34:38,079
court hearings.

1031
00:34:39,260 --> 00:34:41,500
Are they spending, you know, 1 on one

1032
00:34:41,500 --> 00:34:43,340
time with the child trying to get to

1033
00:34:43,340 --> 00:34:44,864
know them? Do they, you know, take them

1034
00:34:44,864 --> 00:34:46,224
out to eat? They take them to ice

1035
00:34:46,224 --> 00:34:47,525
cream? Like, what is that

1036
00:34:48,144 --> 00:34:50,485
that the process of getting to know them

1037
00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:51,980
and where they have to dedicate

1038
00:34:52,359 --> 00:34:54,679
their time to other than the actual court

1039
00:34:54,679 --> 00:34:55,179
hearings

1040
00:34:55,719 --> 00:34:57,739
themselves, what does that look like?

1041
00:34:58,359 --> 00:34:58,859
So

1042
00:34:59,744 --> 00:35:01,664
through National Casa, we are not allowed to

1043
00:35:01,664 --> 00:35:04,385
transport the children and we're not allowed to,

1044
00:35:05,505 --> 00:35:06,885
supervise the child.

1045
00:35:07,269 --> 00:35:09,030
We can interact with the child and be

1046
00:35:09,030 --> 00:35:10,550
alone with the child, like, if we go

1047
00:35:10,550 --> 00:35:13,110
to the foster home and let's go outside

1048
00:35:13,110 --> 00:35:14,869
and play ball. A lot of what I

1049
00:35:14,869 --> 00:35:17,025
encourage my advocates to do, in fact,

1050
00:35:17,724 --> 00:35:19,484
I have gifted all of them a I

1051
00:35:19,484 --> 00:35:20,464
call it a toolkit.

1052
00:35:21,244 --> 00:35:23,405
We're not really supposed to buy the children

1053
00:35:23,405 --> 00:35:24,385
a lot of things.

1054
00:35:24,860 --> 00:35:27,180
So in that toolkit, they have connect 4

1055
00:35:27,180 --> 00:35:29,660
and Jenga and crayons and coloring books and

1056
00:35:29,660 --> 00:35:31,660
stickers and fidgets and all this kind of

1057
00:35:31,660 --> 00:35:33,519
stuff so that they can take that toolkit

1058
00:35:34,045 --> 00:35:35,565
and kind of as an icebreaker with the

1059
00:35:35,565 --> 00:35:38,125
kids. Get involved with doing things and then

1060
00:35:38,125 --> 00:35:39,804
take that toolkit back home with them so

1061
00:35:39,804 --> 00:35:41,405
that the next time, hey, let's look and

1062
00:35:41,405 --> 00:35:42,704
see what else we have here.

1063
00:35:43,170 --> 00:35:46,050
In fact, last year, Pleasant View, Baptist Church

1064
00:35:46,050 --> 00:35:47,510
did a their bible school

1065
00:35:47,809 --> 00:35:49,650
did a fundraiser for us for for their

1066
00:35:49,650 --> 00:35:51,650
bible school fundraiser. And that's what we did

1067
00:35:51,650 --> 00:35:53,545
was we we bought games to go in

1068
00:35:53,545 --> 00:35:55,864
these tool kits for all of our advocates

1069
00:35:55,864 --> 00:35:56,904
to be able to take in and out

1070
00:35:56,904 --> 00:35:57,565
of the homes.

1071
00:35:57,864 --> 00:35:59,545
I have one advocate right now.

1072
00:36:00,264 --> 00:36:01,885
She is working with her

1073
00:36:02,329 --> 00:36:03,469
young girl

1074
00:36:04,010 --> 00:36:04,510
and

1075
00:36:05,210 --> 00:36:06,590
she'd never been to the library.

1076
00:36:07,210 --> 00:36:09,289
So they have a standing date every other

1077
00:36:09,289 --> 00:36:10,909
Sunday. They go to the library

1078
00:36:11,815 --> 00:36:14,295
with her placement, and they get get learn

1079
00:36:14,295 --> 00:36:16,135
how to check out books, and they've read,

1080
00:36:16,135 --> 00:36:18,714
and she has just excelled this summer academically,

1081
00:36:19,840 --> 00:36:21,280
where, you know, a lot of kids are

1082
00:36:21,280 --> 00:36:23,119
sitting at home not doing much, and and

1083
00:36:23,119 --> 00:36:23,780
she is,

1084
00:36:24,320 --> 00:36:26,320
English is her second language. And so it's

1085
00:36:26,320 --> 00:36:28,400
been very beneficial for her to be able

1086
00:36:28,400 --> 00:36:30,405
to have these dates at the library and

1087
00:36:30,405 --> 00:36:31,605
and get to get out and do some

1088
00:36:31,605 --> 00:36:34,405
things like that. Oh, that's awesome. Yeah. So

1089
00:36:34,405 --> 00:36:36,405
is it kind of at the discretion of

1090
00:36:36,405 --> 00:36:39,079
the the advocate Mhmm. Himself? So, I mean,

1091
00:36:39,079 --> 00:36:40,519
if they wanna meet with if, like I

1092
00:36:40,519 --> 00:36:42,199
said, they go to the, you know, Isaiah

1093
00:36:42,199 --> 00:36:43,340
117 house,

1094
00:36:43,800 --> 00:36:45,400
can they meet with them every day, every

1095
00:36:45,400 --> 00:36:47,815
other day, twice a week is They're required

1096
00:36:47,875 --> 00:36:49,894
to meet once a month, face to face.

1097
00:36:50,594 --> 00:36:52,195
Many of them get involved more. And it

1098
00:36:52,195 --> 00:36:53,474
kind of depends on the age of the

1099
00:36:53,474 --> 00:36:54,934
child. You know, if it's a baby,

1100
00:36:55,329 --> 00:36:57,409
you're not gonna develop a lot of that

1101
00:36:57,409 --> 00:36:59,489
relationship. So a lot of that is getting

1102
00:36:59,489 --> 00:37:00,949
more to know the parents

1103
00:37:01,250 --> 00:37:02,150
and the other

1104
00:37:02,505 --> 00:37:04,985
parties involved. And and still seeing the child

1105
00:37:04,985 --> 00:37:06,265
and knowing the child and that kind of

1106
00:37:06,265 --> 00:37:08,265
thing, but you're not gonna develop a huge

1107
00:37:08,265 --> 00:37:10,184
relationship with that baby seeing them once a

1108
00:37:10,184 --> 00:37:11,085
month or whatever.

1109
00:37:11,480 --> 00:37:13,000
And it's it's up to the advocates, up

1110
00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:15,099
to their availability, it's up to the placements

1111
00:37:15,239 --> 00:37:15,739
availability.

1112
00:37:16,760 --> 00:37:17,980
And sometimes the children

1113
00:37:18,440 --> 00:37:20,664
want to be involved more. Hey, can you

1114
00:37:20,664 --> 00:37:22,105
come to my game? Can you come watch

1115
00:37:22,105 --> 00:37:23,864
me at gymnastics? Can you come do those

1116
00:37:23,864 --> 00:37:25,385
kind of things? And we have advocates who

1117
00:37:25,385 --> 00:37:26,905
very much are willing to go and do

1118
00:37:26,905 --> 00:37:27,964
those kind of things.

1119
00:37:28,699 --> 00:37:31,420
And then you have the 13, 14, 15

1120
00:37:31,420 --> 00:37:32,699
year olds who are like, why are you

1121
00:37:32,699 --> 00:37:34,380
here? Let's get this over with. You know?

1122
00:37:34,380 --> 00:37:36,619
That's right. Yeah. They're a little more difficult

1123
00:37:36,619 --> 00:37:38,675
sometimes, but you would be surprised.

1124
00:37:39,315 --> 00:37:41,235
We have a a teenager right now who

1125
00:37:41,235 --> 00:37:42,594
just will sit down and sit on the

1126
00:37:42,594 --> 00:37:43,954
front porch and just glad to have somebody

1127
00:37:43,954 --> 00:37:44,855
to talk to.

1128
00:37:45,954 --> 00:37:47,574
I always tell my advocates,

1129
00:37:48,260 --> 00:37:50,420
no matter what your degree is in or

1130
00:37:50,420 --> 00:37:51,639
what your profession is,

1131
00:37:52,019 --> 00:37:53,960
here, you're just a volunteer.

1132
00:37:54,659 --> 00:37:57,159
So my assistant district attorney

1133
00:37:57,625 --> 00:37:59,465
is just a volunteer when she's with us.

1134
00:37:59,465 --> 00:38:01,784
She is not anything else. She is not

1135
00:38:01,784 --> 00:38:04,025
an attorney. She is not anything except a

1136
00:38:04,025 --> 00:38:05,989
volunteer willing to come and and help in

1137
00:38:05,989 --> 00:38:08,789
this family. Throw everything out the window. You

1138
00:38:08,789 --> 00:38:10,550
are this is what you are. Yep. You're

1139
00:38:10,550 --> 00:38:12,809
volunteer. Whatever pride you got in your profession,

1140
00:38:13,030 --> 00:38:14,809
go to what you're just a volunteer.

1141
00:38:15,974 --> 00:38:18,154
You know, it's it's really it's it's just

1142
00:38:18,295 --> 00:38:20,154
fascinating to hear about, and

1143
00:38:21,094 --> 00:38:24,074
it's one of those things that, you know,

1144
00:38:24,440 --> 00:38:25,980
for for me, for example,

1145
00:38:26,920 --> 00:38:27,900
you know, I'm

1146
00:38:29,640 --> 00:38:32,454
it's not part of my every my everyday

1147
00:38:32,594 --> 00:38:33,655
day to day life.

1148
00:38:34,035 --> 00:38:35,315
You know, I've got a I've got a

1149
00:38:35,315 --> 00:38:37,235
family of my own. I've got to work,

1150
00:38:37,235 --> 00:38:37,735
and

1151
00:38:38,195 --> 00:38:39,875
you you get caught up in your own

1152
00:38:39,875 --> 00:38:41,789
little existence for what it is, and you

1153
00:38:41,789 --> 00:38:43,410
for you fail to realize

1154
00:38:43,789 --> 00:38:46,670
everything else going on out here and less

1155
00:38:46,670 --> 00:38:48,984
fortunate people and what they're going through. And

1156
00:38:48,984 --> 00:38:50,344
there's times, you know, me and my wife

1157
00:38:50,344 --> 00:38:51,884
will be driving down the road or whatever,

1158
00:38:52,664 --> 00:38:54,184
and you look you know, you pass houses

1159
00:38:54,184 --> 00:38:55,784
all the time. And you look at a

1160
00:38:55,784 --> 00:38:56,764
house and you say,

1161
00:38:57,170 --> 00:38:59,089
who knows what's going on inside of there?

1162
00:38:59,089 --> 00:39:00,289
Right. You know what I mean? You just

1163
00:39:00,369 --> 00:39:01,650
you you don't know because we live in

1164
00:39:01,650 --> 00:39:04,210
a depraved world. That's just the the reality

1165
00:39:04,210 --> 00:39:06,635
of it. And once I became a parent,

1166
00:39:06,635 --> 00:39:07,454
I've become

1167
00:39:07,914 --> 00:39:09,755
more of an empath when it comes to

1168
00:39:09,755 --> 00:39:10,494
to children.

1169
00:39:11,275 --> 00:39:12,574
And, you know,

1170
00:39:12,940 --> 00:39:14,380
we take our kids to the park or

1171
00:39:14,380 --> 00:39:17,260
whatever, and we happen to see another child

1172
00:39:17,260 --> 00:39:18,400
there, and you can just

1173
00:39:18,940 --> 00:39:21,839
based on common sense and being able to,

1174
00:39:22,034 --> 00:39:23,875
you know, evaluate maybe the, you know, the

1175
00:39:23,875 --> 00:39:25,715
appearance of the child, the way the child's

1176
00:39:25,715 --> 00:39:26,695
socially interacting,

1177
00:39:26,994 --> 00:39:28,514
that they may or may not come from

1178
00:39:28,514 --> 00:39:30,359
a a rougher environment

1179
00:39:30,739 --> 00:39:32,920
or who knows what they're being exposed to.

1180
00:39:33,539 --> 00:39:35,059
And here in Robeson County, you know, it's

1181
00:39:35,219 --> 00:39:35,960
I mean, it's

1182
00:39:36,394 --> 00:39:38,315
no different. It's a very prevalent thing that

1183
00:39:38,315 --> 00:39:40,235
I think the general population is just not

1184
00:39:40,235 --> 00:39:41,775
aware of. It's just easy to

1185
00:39:42,075 --> 00:39:43,675
bury your head head in the sand and

1186
00:39:43,675 --> 00:39:44,155
you become,

1187
00:39:45,619 --> 00:39:47,400
just focused on your own existence.

1188
00:39:47,940 --> 00:39:48,440
But

1189
00:39:49,139 --> 00:39:52,099
what y'all deal with in Robertson County specifically

1190
00:39:52,099 --> 00:39:53,639
and what you see? I mean, what

1191
00:39:54,324 --> 00:39:56,005
what are some of the common things? Is

1192
00:39:56,005 --> 00:39:56,905
it more of

1193
00:39:57,364 --> 00:39:58,804
and you I'm sure you can only talk

1194
00:39:58,804 --> 00:40:00,164
about this so much, but, like, if you

1195
00:40:00,164 --> 00:40:02,800
imagine, like, a a pie chart of these

1196
00:40:03,339 --> 00:40:05,500
levels of abuse that these kids are going

1197
00:40:05,500 --> 00:40:06,800
through, is it more

1198
00:40:07,980 --> 00:40:10,804
physical? Is it sexual? Is it neglect? Is

1199
00:40:10,804 --> 00:40:13,304
it just is it a a Drugs.

1200
00:40:13,605 --> 00:40:15,144
It's more drugs than anything.

1201
00:40:15,605 --> 00:40:16,105
Yeah.

1202
00:40:16,885 --> 00:40:17,385
Most

1203
00:40:19,280 --> 00:40:21,519
most all of our cases have drugs or

1204
00:40:21,519 --> 00:40:23,300
alcohol involved in some way.

1205
00:40:23,679 --> 00:40:24,179
Now,

1206
00:40:24,719 --> 00:40:27,300
what we know is a lot of that

1207
00:40:27,514 --> 00:40:29,755
also means there's an underlying something that led

1208
00:40:29,755 --> 00:40:30,815
to the drug use.

1209
00:40:31,994 --> 00:40:34,414
Unfortunately, a lot of our cases are

1210
00:40:36,920 --> 00:40:37,420
generational.

1211
00:40:38,359 --> 00:40:40,619
Grandparents were in the system or had trouble,

1212
00:40:40,839 --> 00:40:41,339
parents,

1213
00:40:42,119 --> 00:40:42,619
kids,

1214
00:40:43,159 --> 00:40:45,260
and and that's a hard thing to see,

1215
00:40:46,175 --> 00:40:48,735
Unfortunately, sometimes the only way to I call

1216
00:40:48,894 --> 00:40:50,974
we call it a generational curse. Sometimes the

1217
00:40:50,974 --> 00:40:52,815
only way to break that is to remove

1218
00:40:52,815 --> 00:40:54,835
that child from that that line.

1219
00:40:56,210 --> 00:40:57,510
It's really hard

1220
00:40:58,050 --> 00:41:01,170
to treat individuals or get we don't treat

1221
00:41:01,170 --> 00:41:03,250
them, get them to treatment and help them

1222
00:41:03,250 --> 00:41:03,829
get better

1223
00:41:04,465 --> 00:41:06,385
when it is generational because that's what they

1224
00:41:06,385 --> 00:41:08,545
know. And I my advocates make fun of

1225
00:41:08,545 --> 00:41:09,824
me in my training because I tell them

1226
00:41:09,824 --> 00:41:10,945
all the time, you don't know what you

1227
00:41:10,945 --> 00:41:11,460
don't know.

1228
00:41:12,019 --> 00:41:13,460
And if you don't know how to break

1229
00:41:13,460 --> 00:41:15,380
that curse, if you don't know how to

1230
00:41:15,380 --> 00:41:16,280
put down that

1231
00:41:16,659 --> 00:41:19,474
pipe or the bottle or the needle or

1232
00:41:19,474 --> 00:41:21,394
whatever and that's all you've ever seen, if

1233
00:41:21,394 --> 00:41:22,914
all you ever know is to yell at

1234
00:41:22,914 --> 00:41:24,275
people and then they do what you want

1235
00:41:24,275 --> 00:41:25,094
them to do,

1236
00:41:25,394 --> 00:41:26,775
that that's what you know.

1237
00:41:28,230 --> 00:41:30,949
I think that's what every county is different,

1238
00:41:30,949 --> 00:41:32,869
and I am proud of Robertson County and

1239
00:41:32,869 --> 00:41:34,650
the things that we do for our family.

1240
00:41:36,789 --> 00:41:37,289
Because

1241
00:41:38,135 --> 00:41:39,574
we try to make sure that when the

1242
00:41:39,574 --> 00:41:42,155
kids go back home or wherever they're going,

1243
00:41:42,295 --> 00:41:44,375
that we have worked on their trauma, that

1244
00:41:44,375 --> 00:41:45,974
we've worked you know, we've had parents that

1245
00:41:45,974 --> 00:41:47,914
we've come through and we've said, hey,

1246
00:41:48,250 --> 00:41:50,170
you have trauma in your background. Have you

1247
00:41:50,170 --> 00:41:51,230
ever dealt with that?

1248
00:41:51,610 --> 00:41:53,690
Let's get you into trauma therapy because that's

1249
00:41:53,690 --> 00:41:55,449
gonna make you a better parent. You have

1250
00:41:55,449 --> 00:41:56,909
to deal with your stuff first.

1251
00:41:57,525 --> 00:41:58,344
And we have

1252
00:41:59,045 --> 00:42:01,684
limited resources when it comes sometimes to trauma

1253
00:42:01,684 --> 00:42:03,525
therapies and that kind of thing in Robertson

1254
00:42:03,525 --> 00:42:05,764
County, and we have organizations really trying to

1255
00:42:05,764 --> 00:42:08,500
work on that. But we have great resources

1256
00:42:08,800 --> 00:42:11,199
and people that we can point to and

1257
00:42:11,199 --> 00:42:12,719
say, hey, can you get us here? Can

1258
00:42:12,719 --> 00:42:13,940
you help us get there?

1259
00:42:14,320 --> 00:42:15,539
We have a lot of,

1260
00:42:16,664 --> 00:42:18,264
our court is very in tune with a

1261
00:42:18,264 --> 00:42:20,905
lot of the drug rehab facilities, and, you

1262
00:42:20,905 --> 00:42:22,639
know, somebody will come and say, well, I've

1263
00:42:22,719 --> 00:42:24,639
called 3 places. Did you call this place?

1264
00:42:24,639 --> 00:42:26,400
Because I know they have openings. We talked

1265
00:42:26,400 --> 00:42:27,299
to them last week.

1266
00:42:27,920 --> 00:42:30,019
And really trying to to help

1267
00:42:30,844 --> 00:42:33,824
the underlying calls. But we do have overall,

1268
00:42:33,964 --> 00:42:34,944
a a consistent,

1269
00:42:36,364 --> 00:42:38,144
theme is is drug use.

1270
00:42:38,820 --> 00:42:39,860
And when you look at the root of

1271
00:42:39,860 --> 00:42:41,639
the issue, like you said, if it's generational,

1272
00:42:42,099 --> 00:42:43,699
if they grew up in an environment where

1273
00:42:43,699 --> 00:42:45,800
that's all they know, they've never seen

1274
00:42:47,224 --> 00:42:49,704
a healthy family unit where you have a

1275
00:42:49,704 --> 00:42:53,144
present mother and father being intentional and loving

1276
00:42:53,144 --> 00:42:53,885
each other

1277
00:42:54,329 --> 00:42:56,090
and, you know, then in turn loving the

1278
00:42:56,090 --> 00:42:57,530
kid. They've never seen that before. I mean,

1279
00:42:57,530 --> 00:42:59,930
they come from a bad situation they were

1280
00:42:59,930 --> 00:43:00,670
born into.

1281
00:43:01,050 --> 00:43:01,550
And,

1282
00:43:02,215 --> 00:43:04,055
you know, you're not just gonna solve that

1283
00:43:04,055 --> 00:43:05,894
by giving them a talking to. You know,

1284
00:43:05,894 --> 00:43:07,335
it's not that's not the way that it

1285
00:43:07,335 --> 00:43:09,255
works. And not by just taking their kid.

1286
00:43:09,255 --> 00:43:11,059
Right. That's how they view it as you

1287
00:43:11,059 --> 00:43:13,140
took my kid. Sure. Sure. That's not the

1288
00:43:13,140 --> 00:43:13,640
situation.

1289
00:43:13,940 --> 00:43:16,099
I mean, it it you're talking about some

1290
00:43:16,099 --> 00:43:18,375
major, major therapy that people have to and

1291
00:43:18,375 --> 00:43:20,095
people can do it if if they want

1292
00:43:20,215 --> 00:43:21,974
if they make a decision, they want to.

1293
00:43:21,974 --> 00:43:22,795
If they want

1294
00:43:23,494 --> 00:43:25,594
to go to a drug and alcohol facility,

1295
00:43:25,974 --> 00:43:26,554
you know,

1296
00:43:27,180 --> 00:43:29,280
If they make that decision for themselves,

1297
00:43:29,579 --> 00:43:32,640
then people can absolutely do it. Mhmm.

1298
00:43:33,500 --> 00:43:35,985
But, obviously, the reality of the situation is

1299
00:43:35,985 --> 00:43:37,744
it doesn't always work out that way. So,

1300
00:43:37,744 --> 00:43:38,804
you know, the reunification

1301
00:43:39,824 --> 00:43:42,659
percentage wise, do you know, like, you know,

1302
00:43:42,739 --> 00:43:44,900
last year with those cases, how many were,

1303
00:43:44,900 --> 00:43:46,359
you know, turned out to be

1304
00:43:46,819 --> 00:43:48,199
a a a case where they were

1305
00:43:48,819 --> 00:43:51,139
reunified with their their mother and father or

1306
00:43:51,139 --> 00:43:52,039
one of the other?

1307
00:43:52,885 --> 00:43:54,085
Funny you asked because I just had to

1308
00:43:54,085 --> 00:43:55,925
do one of my reports yesterday. And I

1309
00:43:55,925 --> 00:43:57,445
think in the past 6 months, I think

1310
00:43:57,445 --> 00:43:59,765
I remember that we had closed for 19

1311
00:43:59,765 --> 00:44:00,265
children.

1312
00:44:00,969 --> 00:44:03,289
And out of that 19, I think there

1313
00:44:03,289 --> 00:44:03,789
were

1314
00:44:04,809 --> 00:44:06,670
7 or 8 that went back for reunification.

1315
00:44:07,585 --> 00:44:08,864
There were 4 or 5 that went and

1316
00:44:08,864 --> 00:44:09,844
stayed with families.

1317
00:44:10,465 --> 00:44:12,065
And we had, like, 3 adoptions. I'm not

1318
00:44:12,065 --> 00:44:13,344
sure if that adds up to 19, but

1319
00:44:13,344 --> 00:44:15,184
that's kind of kind of how that breakdown

1320
00:44:15,184 --> 00:44:17,599
was. And and you can't look at if

1321
00:44:17,599 --> 00:44:18,099
they're

1322
00:44:18,559 --> 00:44:20,239
you can't look at it as if, okay.

1323
00:44:20,239 --> 00:44:22,639
Well, they weren't reunified with their family, so

1324
00:44:22,639 --> 00:44:24,900
it was a failure. You know? Right. Adoption

1325
00:44:24,960 --> 00:44:26,099
could be the the,

1326
00:44:26,934 --> 00:44:28,614
the best thing that ever happened to that

1327
00:44:28,614 --> 00:44:30,614
child. Absolutely. We're going to live with with

1328
00:44:30,614 --> 00:44:31,835
another family member.

1329
00:44:32,695 --> 00:44:34,315
But at the same time, if the

1330
00:44:34,739 --> 00:44:36,340
mother and father, if that if it works

1331
00:44:36,340 --> 00:44:37,619
out that way, I'm sure that is a

1332
00:44:37,619 --> 00:44:40,579
beautiful thing to witness if everybody's doing their

1333
00:44:40,579 --> 00:44:43,000
due diligence to make that situation better.

1334
00:44:43,335 --> 00:44:44,534
But To be able to stand up in

1335
00:44:44,534 --> 00:44:46,134
front of the court and the parents get

1336
00:44:46,134 --> 00:44:46,714
to hear

1337
00:44:47,335 --> 00:44:49,174
this case is closed. You have you've been

1338
00:44:49,174 --> 00:44:51,409
reunified with their children. I mean, it's it's

1339
00:44:51,409 --> 00:44:53,170
hard not to cry with them because they're

1340
00:44:53,170 --> 00:44:55,809
usually so elated. Oh my gosh. And you've

1341
00:44:55,809 --> 00:44:57,250
been with them for so long and watch

1342
00:44:57,250 --> 00:44:58,069
them. Right.

1343
00:44:58,449 --> 00:45:00,744
You know, I've we've watched parents come up

1344
00:45:00,744 --> 00:45:03,005
who obviously were under the influence of drugs

1345
00:45:03,304 --> 00:45:05,545
and see them 2 years later, healthy and

1346
00:45:05,545 --> 00:45:07,719
sober and back with their children. It's it's

1347
00:45:07,719 --> 00:45:10,059
an amazing thing to watch. Oh my goodness.

1348
00:45:10,760 --> 00:45:12,859
You see some of the most beautiful things

1349
00:45:13,000 --> 00:45:14,840
in in that way, and you see some

1350
00:45:14,840 --> 00:45:15,659
some horrific

1351
00:45:16,424 --> 00:45:18,045
things too, I imagine. So

1352
00:45:18,585 --> 00:45:21,244
how do you specifically you know, you've got

1353
00:45:21,464 --> 00:45:22,664
a child of your own. You got a

1354
00:45:22,664 --> 00:45:24,264
life away from this. How do you take

1355
00:45:24,264 --> 00:45:25,565
care of yourself mentally

1356
00:45:27,150 --> 00:45:29,309
by being exposed to these things? It it

1357
00:45:29,309 --> 00:45:31,630
takes a toll It does. On anybody. What

1358
00:45:31,630 --> 00:45:34,210
what do you do to to keep your

1359
00:45:34,945 --> 00:45:37,105
mental sanity and health during this? Do you

1360
00:45:37,105 --> 00:45:39,045
try to take a vacation once a year?

1361
00:45:39,265 --> 00:45:40,485
What what do you like to do?

1362
00:45:41,265 --> 00:45:43,690
My child is a lot of of my

1363
00:45:43,690 --> 00:45:45,449
sanity. You know, I just I really try

1364
00:45:45,449 --> 00:45:47,609
to focus on doing things with her and

1365
00:45:47,609 --> 00:45:49,389
and getting out. But at the same time,

1366
00:45:49,769 --> 00:45:51,690
we tell all the advocates we're sounding boards

1367
00:45:51,690 --> 00:45:53,275
for each other. Once you've been through the

1368
00:45:53,275 --> 00:45:54,894
training, you've signed your confidentiality.

1369
00:45:55,195 --> 00:45:57,114
We don't go around sharing names, but we're

1370
00:45:57,114 --> 00:45:58,635
able to call each other and say, look,

1371
00:45:58,635 --> 00:45:59,695
I gotta tell you.

1372
00:46:00,000 --> 00:46:01,519
You know It's a big community for each

1373
00:46:01,519 --> 00:46:03,699
other. Yes. This this is this has happened.

1374
00:46:03,760 --> 00:46:05,599
This is very frustrating. We need to talk

1375
00:46:05,599 --> 00:46:06,880
about this. And a lot of times that

1376
00:46:06,880 --> 00:46:09,394
really helps. We have advocate meetings for them

1377
00:46:09,394 --> 00:46:10,215
once a month.

1378
00:46:10,675 --> 00:46:13,235
And this summer, the advocate coordinator has scheduled,

1379
00:46:13,235 --> 00:46:14,594
you know, let's do some self care things.

1380
00:46:14,594 --> 00:46:15,954
We went to Willow Oaks and did a

1381
00:46:15,954 --> 00:46:17,175
painting party and,

1382
00:46:17,589 --> 00:46:18,949
did some things like that just to be

1383
00:46:18,949 --> 00:46:20,969
able to in impact in August,

1384
00:46:21,349 --> 00:46:21,849
Stephanie

1385
00:46:22,469 --> 00:46:24,250
Evans is coming to talk about.

1386
00:46:24,715 --> 00:46:27,035
We talk about their mental health issues. How

1387
00:46:27,035 --> 00:46:29,114
do you help your own mental health and

1388
00:46:29,114 --> 00:46:30,335
what do you do? So,

1389
00:46:31,595 --> 00:46:33,355
and for our advocates, they do have one

1390
00:46:33,355 --> 00:46:35,820
cases, but the advocate coordinator and I are

1391
00:46:35,820 --> 00:46:37,280
dealing with all of the cases.

1392
00:46:38,059 --> 00:46:39,900
And so it's you know, we're able to

1393
00:46:39,900 --> 00:46:41,500
sound off of each other, but I do.

1394
00:46:41,500 --> 00:46:42,400
I take vacations.

1395
00:46:43,144 --> 00:46:45,304
Just the other day, my advocate coordinator text

1396
00:46:45,304 --> 00:46:47,065
me and said, hey. Taking the afternoon off

1397
00:46:47,065 --> 00:46:48,984
and taking my granddaughter to the movie. Okay.

1398
00:46:48,984 --> 00:46:49,885
Fine. Have fun.

1399
00:46:50,960 --> 00:46:52,019
When I was in

1400
00:46:52,719 --> 00:46:53,219
college,

1401
00:46:53,599 --> 00:46:54,739
I would do my internship.

1402
00:46:55,119 --> 00:46:57,460
I was going through some some family issues

1403
00:46:57,519 --> 00:46:58,019
and

1404
00:46:58,719 --> 00:46:59,460
that person

1405
00:47:00,224 --> 00:47:01,204
taught me more

1406
00:47:01,505 --> 00:47:03,425
about self care than anybody. She called me

1407
00:47:03,425 --> 00:47:05,664
one morning and said, hey, I know yesterday

1408
00:47:05,664 --> 00:47:07,105
was hard for you. Before you come to

1409
00:47:07,105 --> 00:47:08,464
your internship today, I want you to go

1410
00:47:08,464 --> 00:47:09,929
get breakfast, go to the park, and take

1411
00:47:09,929 --> 00:47:11,389
a walk, be here by 10.

1412
00:47:11,690 --> 00:47:13,050
She said you gotta take care of yourself

1413
00:47:13,050 --> 00:47:14,909
first. And as a supervisor

1414
00:47:15,289 --> 00:47:17,690
all those years, I've really tried my best

1415
00:47:17,690 --> 00:47:19,069
to make sure people know

1416
00:47:19,444 --> 00:47:21,684
you and your family come first, job comes

1417
00:47:21,684 --> 00:47:24,264
second. It's important. You gotta be here. Don't

1418
00:47:24,644 --> 00:47:25,864
don't abuse it.

1419
00:47:26,300 --> 00:47:27,579
But if you call and tell me that

1420
00:47:27,579 --> 00:47:29,420
you need some mental health time today, then

1421
00:47:29,420 --> 00:47:31,420
take it. Do it. I think it's really

1422
00:47:31,420 --> 00:47:33,340
important. Oh, god. You how you have to

1423
00:47:33,340 --> 00:47:35,260
have it. I can imagine, you know, somebody

1424
00:47:35,260 --> 00:47:35,760
that's,

1425
00:47:36,454 --> 00:47:38,454
leans more along like a workaholic. Like, they

1426
00:47:38,454 --> 00:47:40,775
just immerse themselves in this line of work

1427
00:47:40,775 --> 00:47:42,454
if they're a volunteer, and then they become

1428
00:47:42,454 --> 00:47:44,074
very passionate for the cases.

1429
00:47:45,619 --> 00:47:46,519
And you're not

1430
00:47:47,059 --> 00:47:47,800
you're not

1431
00:47:48,579 --> 00:47:49,880
thinking about yourself

1432
00:47:50,179 --> 00:47:52,260
and what you need, how this can really

1433
00:47:52,260 --> 00:47:53,945
take a toll on you you because you're

1434
00:47:54,184 --> 00:47:56,605
I mean, you're you're hearing and seeing some

1435
00:47:57,144 --> 00:47:59,305
things that should not happen. Right. And it

1436
00:47:59,385 --> 00:48:00,985
when it involves children, I mean, I'm sorry.

1437
00:48:00,985 --> 00:48:03,030
It's just that much harder, especially, you know,

1438
00:48:03,030 --> 00:48:03,769
when you

1439
00:48:04,390 --> 00:48:05,829
when I became a parent, like I said,

1440
00:48:05,829 --> 00:48:08,309
I just it it Makes you different. Oh,

1441
00:48:08,309 --> 00:48:10,150
it changes your perspective. I mean, I could

1442
00:48:10,150 --> 00:48:12,090
have heard about terrible things about kids

1443
00:48:12,655 --> 00:48:13,775
before I came to parent. I'm like, I

1444
00:48:13,775 --> 00:48:15,454
thought it's terrible. Yeah. And then I'd well,

1445
00:48:15,454 --> 00:48:16,735
okay. Well, then I go on the next

1446
00:48:16,735 --> 00:48:18,275
thing. But now it's just

1447
00:48:18,655 --> 00:48:21,375
when you when you have kids, it changes

1448
00:48:21,375 --> 00:48:21,875
your

1449
00:48:22,239 --> 00:48:24,480
lens of how you view everything, or at

1450
00:48:24,480 --> 00:48:25,380
least it should.

1451
00:48:25,920 --> 00:48:27,760
And, I mean, you you think about your

1452
00:48:27,760 --> 00:48:30,045
kids and you're thinking, well, I'm of course,

1453
00:48:30,045 --> 00:48:31,984
no no parents perfect, obviously.

1454
00:48:33,324 --> 00:48:35,405
But it's like, you know, why they were

1455
00:48:35,405 --> 00:48:38,650
born into lower willing, a a good, healthy

1456
00:48:38,650 --> 00:48:40,269
nuclear family unit,

1457
00:48:40,969 --> 00:48:42,489
but then you look at these other kids

1458
00:48:42,489 --> 00:48:44,170
over here, and they were born into this

1459
00:48:44,170 --> 00:48:46,089
awful situation. And they had no choice in

1460
00:48:46,089 --> 00:48:47,355
the the matter. You know what I mean?

1461
00:48:47,355 --> 00:48:48,015
It just,

1462
00:48:48,474 --> 00:48:48,974
just

1463
00:48:49,275 --> 00:48:52,635
drew really, really bad hand. Right. And,

1464
00:48:53,570 --> 00:48:55,809
I don't know. It's just it's some heavy,

1465
00:48:55,809 --> 00:48:58,230
heavy stuff to take in, I'm sure. But

1466
00:48:59,650 --> 00:49:00,630
38 volunteers,

1467
00:49:00,929 --> 00:49:02,724
you know, that's the limiting factor in in

1468
00:49:02,965 --> 00:49:03,945
success of this.

1469
00:49:04,485 --> 00:49:05,144
Is there

1470
00:49:05,445 --> 00:49:07,445
a promising trend that you can see of

1471
00:49:07,445 --> 00:49:09,605
you're getting more interest from more people that

1472
00:49:09,605 --> 00:49:11,065
wanna come on as advocates?

1473
00:49:11,380 --> 00:49:14,500
We are, and we only serve Robertson County.

1474
00:49:14,500 --> 00:49:15,000
Now,

1475
00:49:15,460 --> 00:49:17,140
that doesn't mean the children are in Robertson

1476
00:49:17,140 --> 00:49:17,640
County.

1477
00:49:18,394 --> 00:49:19,675
I I know when you talked to Missy

1478
00:49:19,675 --> 00:49:21,434
last year, she shared with you about different

1479
00:49:21,434 --> 00:49:22,795
foster homes that we have. And I don't

1480
00:49:22,795 --> 00:49:24,335
know the number of foster homes,

1481
00:49:25,194 --> 00:49:26,875
but I do know that several of our

1482
00:49:26,875 --> 00:49:28,949
children, because we don't have enough foster homes

1483
00:49:28,949 --> 00:49:31,210
in Robertson County, are placed outside the county.

1484
00:49:31,510 --> 00:49:34,630
Mhmm. But at the same time, Montgomery County

1485
00:49:34,630 --> 00:49:36,514
doesn't have a CASA program at this time.

1486
00:49:36,594 --> 00:49:38,355
So a lot of times, we have right

1487
00:49:38,355 --> 00:49:40,914
now, I think, 5 advocates from Montgomery County

1488
00:49:40,914 --> 00:49:42,214
who just wanna serve,

1489
00:49:42,514 --> 00:49:44,194
so they come to the next closest county

1490
00:49:44,194 --> 00:49:46,360
and they come with us. So we we're

1491
00:49:46,659 --> 00:49:49,640
we're swearing in about 8 to 10 advocates

1492
00:49:49,699 --> 00:49:50,440
every year.

1493
00:49:51,300 --> 00:49:53,219
Now, you know, we have some that,

1494
00:49:53,635 --> 00:49:55,875
we have one advocate right now who started

1495
00:49:55,875 --> 00:49:57,635
her own nonprofit, and she's so busy. She

1496
00:49:57,635 --> 00:49:58,914
she doesn't have time for a case right

1497
00:49:58,914 --> 00:49:59,894
now, and that's okay.

1498
00:50:00,275 --> 00:50:02,429
An advocate doesn't sign up for life. We

1499
00:50:02,429 --> 00:50:03,630
ask them to sign up for the life

1500
00:50:03,630 --> 00:50:05,150
of their case, but if you can only

1501
00:50:05,150 --> 00:50:07,150
serve one case, then you've served one case

1502
00:50:07,150 --> 00:50:08,510
and you've done a great job for that

1503
00:50:08,510 --> 00:50:09,489
one case. So,

1504
00:50:10,085 --> 00:50:11,844
we are seeing a trend of about 8

1505
00:50:11,844 --> 00:50:12,984
to 10 every year.

1506
00:50:13,764 --> 00:50:16,005
I started saying earlier, we we usually do

1507
00:50:16,005 --> 00:50:18,139
a spring class and a fall class. So

1508
00:50:18,139 --> 00:50:20,079
our next class is coming up in September,

1509
00:50:20,619 --> 00:50:22,619
and we hope to at least have 5

1510
00:50:22,619 --> 00:50:24,539
in that class that will that will start

1511
00:50:24,539 --> 00:50:26,800
and graduate and be sworn in by Christmas.

1512
00:50:27,844 --> 00:50:28,505
And and

1513
00:50:30,244 --> 00:50:30,744
word-of-mouth,

1514
00:50:31,284 --> 00:50:34,105
social media. Mhmm. You know, people.

1515
00:50:35,849 --> 00:50:37,849
I have I I didn't wear my Casa

1516
00:50:37,849 --> 00:50:39,210
shirt today, but I tell people all the

1517
00:50:39,210 --> 00:50:40,809
time we have a little logo, our little

1518
00:50:40,809 --> 00:50:41,630
man logo.

1519
00:50:42,015 --> 00:50:43,775
When my daughter was 2, she knew if

1520
00:50:43,775 --> 00:50:45,215
I put that shirt on, she would say,

1521
00:50:45,215 --> 00:50:46,414
mommy, you're going to a meeting. You have

1522
00:50:46,414 --> 00:50:49,295
your meeting shirt on. And so people don't

1523
00:50:49,295 --> 00:50:51,900
really think social media or branding or any

1524
00:50:51,900 --> 00:50:53,260
of that kind of stuff is effective, but

1525
00:50:53,260 --> 00:50:55,420
it's so effective. Oh, absolutely. And being able

1526
00:50:55,420 --> 00:50:57,340
to get out and about. So the word

1527
00:50:57,340 --> 00:50:59,500
of Casa and what we do has really

1528
00:50:59,500 --> 00:51:01,445
grown over the past few years, which has

1529
00:51:01,445 --> 00:51:03,364
helped to get the number of advocates in

1530
00:51:03,364 --> 00:51:05,364
that we have. Sure. Sure. In any little

1531
00:51:05,364 --> 00:51:06,885
way, you can get the word out there.

1532
00:51:06,885 --> 00:51:08,324
And especially like a logo, when you see

1533
00:51:08,324 --> 00:51:10,325
something, you associate it with, with, oh, yeah.

1534
00:51:10,325 --> 00:51:12,632
I've seen them before. I know what that

1535
00:51:12,632 --> 00:51:14,940
is. That makes perfect sense. I'm I'm I'm

1536
00:51:14,940 --> 00:51:17,248
just curious. You said Montgomery County doesn't have

1537
00:51:17,248 --> 00:51:19,184
this program. And you may not know the

1538
00:51:19,184 --> 00:51:20,405
answer to this, but why

1539
00:51:20,864 --> 00:51:22,945
the Montgomery County is Clarksville. That's a large

1540
00:51:22,945 --> 00:51:25,025
county. Yeah. Why would they not have something

1541
00:51:25,025 --> 00:51:27,359
like that in place, you reckon? Well, because

1542
00:51:27,359 --> 00:51:29,859
they did years ago, and something

1543
00:51:30,480 --> 00:51:31,699
happened very inappropriate,

1544
00:51:32,319 --> 00:51:32,819
and

1545
00:51:33,359 --> 00:51:35,885
they had to close the CASA program. And

1546
00:51:35,885 --> 00:51:38,125
the judges that have been there have said,

1547
00:51:38,125 --> 00:51:39,344
no, no, no, no. And

1548
00:51:39,885 --> 00:51:42,569
we hope with new judges coming in and

1549
00:51:42,569 --> 00:51:44,250
with the positive work that Casa is doing

1550
00:51:44,250 --> 00:51:46,969
in other counties, we're hoping that the talks

1551
00:51:46,969 --> 00:51:49,049
are in place to start 1 in Montgomery

1552
00:51:49,049 --> 00:51:50,589
County in the next couple years.

1553
00:51:51,405 --> 00:51:53,744
But it's just, you know, things happen sometimes

1554
00:51:53,804 --> 00:51:53,965
and

1555
00:51:54,605 --> 00:51:56,704
Well, and the success, it depends on

1556
00:51:57,085 --> 00:51:58,625
obviously, you have to have volunteers.

1557
00:51:59,099 --> 00:52:01,099
You have to have a committed individual such

1558
00:52:01,099 --> 00:52:02,619
as yourself in this role, and you have

1559
00:52:02,619 --> 00:52:04,460
to have the judges backing you. And you

1560
00:52:04,460 --> 00:52:06,159
gotta have the community's money.

1561
00:52:06,815 --> 00:52:08,574
That and thank you for bringing that up

1562
00:52:08,574 --> 00:52:09,714
because Casa,

1563
00:52:10,655 --> 00:52:12,894
how do they keep the doors open? Because

1564
00:52:12,894 --> 00:52:15,295
the money everything's gotta have money. Where's the

1565
00:52:15,295 --> 00:52:17,590
money come from? We we have some grants.

1566
00:52:17,590 --> 00:52:19,030
We have a federal grant. We have a

1567
00:52:19,030 --> 00:52:21,030
state grant. But a lot of ours comes

1568
00:52:21,030 --> 00:52:21,769
from donations.

1569
00:52:22,070 --> 00:52:22,889
You know, people

1570
00:52:23,269 --> 00:52:26,005
are are very kind to do ACHs and

1571
00:52:26,005 --> 00:52:27,525
just it just rolls out of their checking

1572
00:52:27,525 --> 00:52:29,204
account once a month. They never even think

1573
00:52:29,204 --> 00:52:29,945
about it.

1574
00:52:30,940 --> 00:52:32,860
And our biggest fundraiser is coming up in

1575
00:52:32,860 --> 00:52:35,500
October, October 26th. We do a big 5

1576
00:52:35,500 --> 00:52:36,880
k, boobash dash.

1577
00:52:37,340 --> 00:52:39,099
It's been going we looked the other day

1578
00:52:39,099 --> 00:52:41,195
and I think we figured out

1579
00:52:42,135 --> 00:52:43,675
it started around 2,011,

1580
00:52:45,655 --> 00:52:46,875
2012, something like that.

1581
00:52:47,299 --> 00:52:48,900
So it's been going for years. That was

1582
00:52:48,900 --> 00:52:50,500
a couple years they had to skip it

1583
00:52:50,500 --> 00:52:51,400
for whatever reason.

1584
00:52:51,859 --> 00:52:52,179
But,

1585
00:52:52,980 --> 00:52:54,659
I'm I have worked the past 3 years

1586
00:52:54,659 --> 00:52:56,260
to try to make it more, not just

1587
00:52:56,260 --> 00:52:57,844
a 5 k, but more of an event.

1588
00:52:57,844 --> 00:52:58,824
Last year, we had,

1589
00:52:59,364 --> 00:52:59,864
inflatables

1590
00:53:00,324 --> 00:53:02,005
and we had a kids area to do

1591
00:53:02,005 --> 00:53:04,164
kids games and chalk and we had some

1592
00:53:04,164 --> 00:53:05,545
vendors down there. And,

1593
00:53:05,909 --> 00:53:07,750
this year, Historic Perks is bringing their little,

1594
00:53:08,069 --> 00:53:10,329
trailer down there. The Historic Perks will have

1595
00:53:10,710 --> 00:53:12,630
a a counter there to do things. But

1596
00:53:12,630 --> 00:53:13,989
it is a 5 k and a 1

1597
00:53:13,989 --> 00:53:15,530
mile fun run. The thing that's

1598
00:53:15,894 --> 00:53:16,875
unique for us

1599
00:53:17,574 --> 00:53:18,474
is it's a Halloween

1600
00:53:18,855 --> 00:53:21,175
focused event. So you wear your Halloween costume

1601
00:53:21,175 --> 00:53:23,255
and run the 5 k. So therefore, it's

1602
00:53:23,255 --> 00:53:24,474
the boobash dash.

1603
00:53:25,450 --> 00:53:27,289
And it's fun. It's a watch. I mean,

1604
00:53:27,289 --> 00:53:30,570
people come in those humongous inflatable dinosaur costumes

1605
00:53:30,570 --> 00:53:32,465
and run and those little bitty legs that

1606
00:53:32,465 --> 00:53:33,824
go through there and they make it their

1607
00:53:33,824 --> 00:53:35,264
whole 5 k and they're coming back just

1608
00:53:35,264 --> 00:53:37,264
to huffing and puffing. But it's it's a

1609
00:53:37,264 --> 00:53:39,025
fun event that you can bring the whole

1610
00:53:39,025 --> 00:53:40,224
family to. Because if you don't wanna do

1611
00:53:40,224 --> 00:53:42,130
the 5 k, okay, well, go walk them

1612
00:53:42,130 --> 00:53:43,409
out and then turn around and come back.

1613
00:53:43,409 --> 00:53:43,909
Right.

1614
00:53:44,210 --> 00:53:46,210
But we start at the fairgrounds and go

1615
00:53:46,210 --> 00:53:48,069
towards Travis Price on the Greenway.

1616
00:53:48,664 --> 00:53:50,684
So it's it's a great running area.

1617
00:53:51,385 --> 00:53:53,625
Everybody really we had over 200 runners last

1618
00:53:53,625 --> 00:53:54,125
year,

1619
00:53:54,824 --> 00:53:57,150
and we were really excited about that. So

1620
00:53:57,150 --> 00:53:59,389
that that is our biggest fundraiser. And we,

1621
00:53:59,389 --> 00:54:01,789
you know, I in my CEO camp this

1622
00:54:01,789 --> 00:54:02,909
week, you know, I talked to him about

1623
00:54:02,909 --> 00:54:04,429
we have to have businesses who are willing

1624
00:54:04,429 --> 00:54:06,235
to be sponsors of that event. And we

1625
00:54:06,235 --> 00:54:07,675
put their names on their t shirts and

1626
00:54:07,675 --> 00:54:09,275
put their names on their signs and that

1627
00:54:09,275 --> 00:54:10,575
kind of stuff to give back.

1628
00:54:11,355 --> 00:54:12,735
But but that fundraiser

1629
00:54:13,195 --> 00:54:13,855
and donations

1630
00:54:14,235 --> 00:54:14,894
and grants,

1631
00:54:15,309 --> 00:54:16,829
that's where we get our money. And without

1632
00:54:16,829 --> 00:54:19,070
the community being able to to help us

1633
00:54:19,070 --> 00:54:19,730
with those,

1634
00:54:20,590 --> 00:54:22,989
we couldn't exist. It's it's several moving parts

1635
00:54:22,989 --> 00:54:24,894
there that all have to kinda come together

1636
00:54:24,894 --> 00:54:26,894
to make this work. Absolutely. We'll have one

1637
00:54:26,894 --> 00:54:28,034
without the other, then

1638
00:54:28,494 --> 00:54:29,875
the success is compromised,

1639
00:54:30,255 --> 00:54:30,914
which is

1640
00:54:33,389 --> 00:54:35,710
disheartening to think about, I'm sure, because these,

1641
00:54:35,710 --> 00:54:36,289
you know,

1642
00:54:36,909 --> 00:54:38,954
these things don't stop happening. Right. I mean,

1643
00:54:38,954 --> 00:54:40,875
we live in a fallen world and and

1644
00:54:40,875 --> 00:54:43,675
and there's bad situations these children are are

1645
00:54:43,675 --> 00:54:44,414
in and,

1646
00:54:45,114 --> 00:54:46,900
you know, I just if you can put

1647
00:54:46,900 --> 00:54:48,820
yourself in their shoes depending on what it

1648
00:54:48,820 --> 00:54:49,320
is,

1649
00:54:50,340 --> 00:54:52,099
you know, like you said, some of these

1650
00:54:52,099 --> 00:54:53,699
kids, they want you to come to their

1651
00:54:53,699 --> 00:54:54,199
gymnastics

1652
00:54:54,945 --> 00:54:56,724
or their ball game just to have

1653
00:54:57,824 --> 00:55:00,545
support from somebody there, you know, because they're

1654
00:55:00,545 --> 00:55:02,869
they're looking for they wanna be loved. That's

1655
00:55:02,869 --> 00:55:04,869
all it is. They do. And we all

1656
00:55:04,869 --> 00:55:06,230
do. We're all we're all human. We all

1657
00:55:06,230 --> 00:55:07,750
wanna be loved, and they some of them

1658
00:55:07,750 --> 00:55:08,329
are probably

1659
00:55:08,710 --> 00:55:11,204
the concept is foreign to them, but they

1660
00:55:11,285 --> 00:55:13,765
they know innately that that's what they want.

1661
00:55:13,765 --> 00:55:16,085
Yeah. And, you know, being able to bless

1662
00:55:16,085 --> 00:55:18,164
those kids like that, it it means a

1663
00:55:18,164 --> 00:55:19,949
lot. But to have this thing up and

1664
00:55:19,949 --> 00:55:21,869
running, you gotta have all these levels of

1665
00:55:21,869 --> 00:55:24,130
support. So, obviously, volunteers.

1666
00:55:24,510 --> 00:55:26,589
Mhmm. You have 2 the next one is

1667
00:55:26,589 --> 00:55:28,609
in September, the next training? Yes.

1668
00:55:28,974 --> 00:55:29,474
Okay.

1669
00:55:30,974 --> 00:55:31,954
And when is the

1670
00:55:32,894 --> 00:55:34,255
earlier in the year, what month do you

1671
00:55:34,255 --> 00:55:35,775
have the first one? We typically start in

1672
00:55:35,775 --> 00:55:36,994
February. Okay.

1673
00:55:37,659 --> 00:55:39,760
So the volunteers, they go through a 3

1674
00:55:39,820 --> 00:55:43,119
hour 30 hour training. 30 hour training. Okay.

1675
00:55:43,340 --> 00:55:44,860
But we break it up. It's usually, like,

1676
00:55:44,860 --> 00:55:47,454
Tuesday nights, 3 hours every Tuesday night, and

1677
00:55:47,614 --> 00:55:48,894
we just kinda break it up like that

1678
00:55:48,894 --> 00:55:50,494
and get done when we get done. Mhmm.

1679
00:55:50,494 --> 00:55:51,934
So if, you know, if we have 5

1680
00:55:51,934 --> 00:55:53,295
people in the class and 3 can't be

1681
00:55:53,295 --> 00:55:54,894
there that next week, okay, we'll skip a

1682
00:55:54,894 --> 00:55:56,414
week. We'll come back the next week kind

1683
00:55:56,414 --> 00:55:57,679
of thing. So we try to try to

1684
00:55:57,679 --> 00:55:58,179
work.

1685
00:55:58,719 --> 00:56:00,559
And COVID has taught me, we do our

1686
00:56:00,559 --> 00:56:02,800
training in person. Some cost up programs don't.

1687
00:56:02,800 --> 00:56:03,859
They do it all virtual.

1688
00:56:04,400 --> 00:56:06,099
I think you gain a better

1689
00:56:06,744 --> 00:56:07,244
camaraderie

1690
00:56:07,545 --> 00:56:09,625
in the group by doing it in person.

1691
00:56:09,625 --> 00:56:10,125
However,

1692
00:56:10,664 --> 00:56:13,385
if you're sick, don't come share that. We'll

1693
00:56:13,385 --> 00:56:14,980
zoom you in. I don't want you to

1694
00:56:14,980 --> 00:56:16,659
miss, but we'll zoom you in. You can

1695
00:56:16,659 --> 00:56:17,860
lay on the couch and listen to what

1696
00:56:17,860 --> 00:56:19,460
we're talking about. Whatever we need to do

1697
00:56:19,460 --> 00:56:21,780
to get that training in. There's flexibility there.

1698
00:56:21,780 --> 00:56:22,280
Absolutely.

1699
00:56:23,184 --> 00:56:25,445
So 30 hours, that's the most time consuming

1700
00:56:25,585 --> 00:56:26,945
part of it, it sounds like. And then

1701
00:56:26,945 --> 00:56:29,105
after that, you're you're good. You're just kind

1702
00:56:29,105 --> 00:56:29,344
of,

1703
00:56:30,304 --> 00:56:32,760
on call for when these cases come. You're

1704
00:56:32,840 --> 00:56:34,440
you reach out, present it to them, say,

1705
00:56:34,440 --> 00:56:36,199
hey, would you, you know I think you'd

1706
00:56:36,199 --> 00:56:37,559
be a good candidate for this. What do

1707
00:56:37,559 --> 00:56:38,139
you think?

1708
00:56:38,440 --> 00:56:40,599
Yep. And we even tell the advocates, if

1709
00:56:40,599 --> 00:56:42,619
something happens and you can't come to court,

1710
00:56:42,985 --> 00:56:44,425
let us have your court report and we

1711
00:56:44,425 --> 00:56:46,905
will represent CASA in in court itself. They

1712
00:56:46,905 --> 00:56:48,744
they they send in a court report for

1713
00:56:48,744 --> 00:56:50,425
us, and of course, we work with them

1714
00:56:50,425 --> 00:56:52,529
to get that done. But we often ask

1715
00:56:52,529 --> 00:56:53,889
matters to start, what do you need to

1716
00:56:53,889 --> 00:56:56,230
see in those reports? And her answer is,

1717
00:56:56,449 --> 00:56:58,210
I've got the background. I know what the

1718
00:56:58,210 --> 00:56:59,730
case looks like. I know what mom and

1719
00:56:59,730 --> 00:57:01,934
dad did. I need to know when you

1720
00:57:01,934 --> 00:57:04,015
went and witnessed that visit between mom and

1721
00:57:04,015 --> 00:57:05,795
child, what did that look like?

1722
00:57:06,175 --> 00:57:07,855
What did how did the child act when

1723
00:57:07,855 --> 00:57:09,380
you went to visit? Are they are they

1724
00:57:09,380 --> 00:57:10,980
set settled in the home that they're in?

1725
00:57:10,980 --> 00:57:13,139
Do they seem afraid? What what's going on

1726
00:57:13,139 --> 00:57:14,280
with it? And so,

1727
00:57:14,579 --> 00:57:16,739
that's really what we focus on is telling

1728
00:57:16,739 --> 00:57:18,155
the team, hey, we went out on this

1729
00:57:18,155 --> 00:57:19,695
visit and this is what we saw.

1730
00:57:20,315 --> 00:57:21,994
We we got involved with this and this

1731
00:57:21,994 --> 00:57:23,835
is what we learned. And going back and

1732
00:57:23,835 --> 00:57:26,130
give that kind of feedback. I'm just looking

1733
00:57:26,130 --> 00:57:27,829
at the situation and if you

1734
00:57:29,010 --> 00:57:30,530
if you have a gift of being able

1735
00:57:30,530 --> 00:57:32,849
to read, you know, body language, emotional language

1736
00:57:32,849 --> 00:57:34,210
from the child, I mean, that'll tell you

1737
00:57:34,210 --> 00:57:36,105
a lot about the situation they're in.

1738
00:57:36,565 --> 00:57:39,445
So, oh, it's wonderful kingdom work that y'all

1739
00:57:39,445 --> 00:57:41,385
are doing. I mean, it really is.

1740
00:57:41,765 --> 00:57:43,570
And there's, you know, you talk about this

1741
00:57:43,570 --> 00:57:45,409
and then the foster care system, and it's

1742
00:57:45,409 --> 00:57:47,269
just there's such a massive need

1743
00:57:47,650 --> 00:57:49,590
for this kind of thing. So, you know,

1744
00:57:50,065 --> 00:57:52,244
of the volunteers, obviously, donations

1745
00:57:52,625 --> 00:57:54,704
Yes. Very big in the community. Yes.

1746
00:57:55,344 --> 00:57:57,105
And what else? Is there any other thing

1747
00:57:57,105 --> 00:57:59,280
that that is really We have a board.

1748
00:57:59,280 --> 00:58:01,360
We're we're often looking for board members to

1749
00:58:01,360 --> 00:58:02,880
be able to come. And and because some

1750
00:58:02,880 --> 00:58:04,855
people say, I I can't at this point,

1751
00:58:04,855 --> 00:58:06,454
I don't feel like I can serve as

1752
00:58:06,454 --> 00:58:08,154
an advocate. What else can I do?

1753
00:58:08,694 --> 00:58:10,855
Another opportunity as a board member, just to

1754
00:58:10,855 --> 00:58:12,769
be able to sit and have some oversight

1755
00:58:12,829 --> 00:58:14,829
of, yes, the policies are good. Yes, your

1756
00:58:14,829 --> 00:58:16,670
funding is going where it's supposed to go.

1757
00:58:16,670 --> 00:58:18,590
Yes, let's help make this decision kind of

1758
00:58:18,590 --> 00:58:19,090
thing.

1759
00:58:19,949 --> 00:58:20,610
And then

1760
00:58:21,355 --> 00:58:24,255
just word-of-mouth. If nobody can do anything else,

1761
00:58:25,034 --> 00:58:26,954
sharing what we do and sharing our mission.

1762
00:58:26,954 --> 00:58:28,715
Go into our Facebook page. And when we

1763
00:58:28,715 --> 00:58:31,219
have the boobash dash or something coming up,

1764
00:58:31,219 --> 00:58:32,900
being able to forward that and share that

1765
00:58:32,900 --> 00:58:34,679
and say, hey, I heard about this organization.

1766
00:58:35,219 --> 00:58:36,739
Let me tell you about it because the

1767
00:58:36,739 --> 00:58:38,694
next person may be able to give or

1768
00:58:38,694 --> 00:58:40,295
the next person may be able to serve.

1769
00:58:40,295 --> 00:58:40,795
Sure.

1770
00:58:41,335 --> 00:58:43,494
And that's that's what I tell people. Everybody

1771
00:58:43,494 --> 00:58:44,394
can do something.

1772
00:58:44,855 --> 00:58:46,360
You know, if you can't give money and

1773
00:58:46,360 --> 00:58:48,039
you can't give your time, that's okay. But

1774
00:58:48,039 --> 00:58:48,940
you can still

1775
00:58:49,400 --> 00:58:52,360
help us by praying for us or spreading

1776
00:58:52,360 --> 00:58:54,434
the word or something. You know, we're super

1777
00:58:54,434 --> 00:58:57,554
excited because in September, September 17th, we're having

1778
00:58:57,554 --> 00:58:58,694
our 20th celebration.

1779
00:58:59,635 --> 00:59:02,199
And, I had a a church group reach

1780
00:59:02,199 --> 00:59:03,880
out the other day and they wanted to

1781
00:59:03,880 --> 00:59:05,960
to give a donation in memory of someone

1782
00:59:05,960 --> 00:59:07,480
who passed away. And I was like, look.

1783
00:59:07,480 --> 00:59:10,045
Can can you sponsor my awards for that

1784
00:59:10,045 --> 00:59:12,065
event? Because we're gonna give awards. We have,

1785
00:59:12,764 --> 00:59:14,605
people who have been involved from the very

1786
00:59:14,605 --> 00:59:16,579
beginning. We have judges that we wanna thank.

1787
00:59:16,579 --> 00:59:18,099
We have advocates that we wanna do some

1788
00:59:18,099 --> 00:59:19,539
things for and they're like, sure. That'd be

1789
00:59:19,539 --> 00:59:20,739
a great way for us to be able

1790
00:59:20,739 --> 00:59:21,400
to give.

1791
00:59:22,099 --> 00:59:23,860
And and our our breakfast is gonna be

1792
00:59:23,860 --> 00:59:26,284
free. We're doing a a 20th year breakfast

1793
00:59:26,284 --> 00:59:27,085
and it's gonna be,

1794
00:59:28,605 --> 00:59:30,125
if you have been involved with CASA, if

1795
00:59:30,125 --> 00:59:32,304
you've been an advocate, if you have been

1796
00:59:32,469 --> 00:59:34,389
a parent that was served by CASA, if

1797
00:59:34,389 --> 00:59:36,309
you've been a judge, if you've been a

1798
00:59:36,309 --> 00:59:38,150
board member, or if anything that you have

1799
00:59:38,150 --> 00:59:39,929
been involved with CASA in the past,

1800
00:59:40,255 --> 00:59:41,375
to be able to just come and eat

1801
00:59:41,375 --> 00:59:42,815
breakfast and us be able to say thank

1802
00:59:42,815 --> 00:59:43,315
you.

1803
00:59:44,094 --> 00:59:46,335
And we're we're super excited about being able

1804
00:59:46,335 --> 00:59:47,074
to do that.

1805
00:59:47,510 --> 00:59:48,010
And,

1806
00:59:49,190 --> 00:59:51,190
so that that's a big thing for us.

1807
00:59:51,190 --> 00:59:53,510
Oh, I I I can imagine. And just

1808
00:59:53,510 --> 00:59:55,894
like you said, you know, everybody's able to

1809
00:59:55,894 --> 00:59:57,894
do something. Mhmm. You know, if you're not

1810
00:59:57,974 --> 00:59:59,335
if you can't be an advocate at a

1811
00:59:59,335 --> 01:00:00,934
certain time in your life, you know, any

1812
01:00:00,934 --> 01:00:01,674
little donation,

1813
01:00:03,109 --> 01:00:04,010
you know, praying.

1814
01:00:04,710 --> 01:00:06,949
I mean, we really underestimate the power of

1815
01:00:06,949 --> 01:00:08,309
prayer, and that's

1816
01:00:08,789 --> 01:00:11,670
we need that more than probably anything else

1817
01:00:11,670 --> 01:00:13,735
in these situations, you know, because I just

1818
01:00:13,815 --> 01:00:15,175
again, I go back to what you were

1819
01:00:15,175 --> 01:00:15,675
saying

1820
01:00:16,695 --> 01:00:18,695
even after the court case is settled, these

1821
01:00:18,695 --> 01:00:19,594
these kids,

1822
01:00:20,699 --> 01:00:22,319
a lot of them have a long

1823
01:00:22,619 --> 01:00:23,839
hard road hole

1824
01:00:24,219 --> 01:00:26,159
after that. And it's gonna take,

1825
01:00:29,605 --> 01:00:29,925
I

1826
01:00:30,804 --> 01:00:32,984
it it takes a lot of commitment

1827
01:00:33,925 --> 01:00:35,284
even from them to make the choice, you

1828
01:00:35,284 --> 01:00:37,160
know, even if they can recognize like, hey,

1829
01:00:37,160 --> 01:00:40,059
something's not right. Something doesn't feel right internally

1830
01:00:40,119 --> 01:00:41,400
with me. I need to get some help

1831
01:00:41,400 --> 01:00:43,320
because, you know, pride, we can all be

1832
01:00:43,320 --> 01:00:45,555
private in time, but we don't wanna we

1833
01:00:45,555 --> 01:00:47,635
don't wanna fool with with doing the hard

1834
01:00:47,635 --> 01:00:51,095
work of resolving some of that internal struggle

1835
01:00:51,315 --> 01:00:52,454
with what we've experienced.

1836
01:00:53,309 --> 01:00:55,469
And, you know, prayer prayer is a massive

1837
01:00:55,469 --> 01:00:57,789
thing in that. So everybody has a has

1838
01:00:57,789 --> 01:00:59,630
a part they can play in this. They

1839
01:00:59,630 --> 01:01:00,349
do. And,

1840
01:01:00,829 --> 01:01:02,429
you know, it's just it's something that there

1841
01:01:02,429 --> 01:01:04,255
needs to be. And hopefully, this helps, you

1842
01:01:04,255 --> 01:01:04,755
know,

1843
01:01:05,295 --> 01:01:07,135
the awareness of the things going on in

1844
01:01:07,135 --> 01:01:08,894
the county because we're insulate. A lot of

1845
01:01:08,894 --> 01:01:10,549
us are just insulated. We don't deal with

1846
01:01:10,549 --> 01:01:12,069
this on a day to day basis like

1847
01:01:12,069 --> 01:01:12,889
y'all do.

1848
01:01:13,269 --> 01:01:15,589
And, you just you you become so immersed

1849
01:01:15,589 --> 01:01:17,284
in your own life, and you need to

1850
01:01:17,364 --> 01:01:19,125
to get back to, you know, the things

1851
01:01:19,125 --> 01:01:20,984
that are happening within your community

1852
01:01:21,444 --> 01:01:23,764
and have an awareness of it. And, you

1853
01:01:23,764 --> 01:01:24,905
know, Lord willing,

1854
01:01:25,430 --> 01:01:26,869
we can all play a part in that

1855
01:01:26,869 --> 01:01:29,590
together. But, and, Aaliyah, I just I appreciate

1856
01:01:29,590 --> 01:01:30,090
your

1857
01:01:30,789 --> 01:01:32,950
time coming up here today to talk about

1858
01:01:32,950 --> 01:01:35,206
this. I mean, it's just a wonderful thing

1859
01:01:35,206 --> 01:01:37,736
that you're doing and your team is doing,

1860
01:01:37,736 --> 01:01:40,266
and and lord willing, this will just get

1861
01:01:40,266 --> 01:01:42,797
some of that awareness out there, that word-of-mouth

1862
01:01:42,797 --> 01:01:44,630
that, that you talked about. But,

1863
01:01:45,269 --> 01:01:46,630
Well, I thank you for having us. If

1864
01:01:46,630 --> 01:01:48,309
anybody wants to reach out, we are on

1865
01:01:48,309 --> 01:01:50,789
Facebook. We're on Instagram, Casa of Robertson County,

1866
01:01:50,789 --> 01:01:52,329
Casa of RobCo on Instagram.

1867
01:01:52,894 --> 01:01:54,994
Our website is Casa of Rob Co.

1868
01:01:55,614 --> 01:01:57,454
So you can find us or just come

1869
01:01:57,454 --> 01:01:59,614
knock on we're not always the the the

1870
01:01:59,614 --> 01:02:01,614
good thing about a non profit job and

1871
01:02:01,614 --> 01:02:03,159
the bad thing about a non profit job

1872
01:02:03,159 --> 01:02:04,920
is you're not an 8 to 5:30 or

1873
01:02:04,920 --> 01:02:07,179
8 to 4:30 or whatever office sitter.

1874
01:02:07,880 --> 01:02:09,099
But then your phone calls

1875
01:02:09,480 --> 01:02:11,755
don't end till 8 o'clock at night sometimes,

1876
01:02:11,815 --> 01:02:13,414
or they start at 7 o'clock in the

1877
01:02:13,414 --> 01:02:15,574
morning sometimes. Right. But so we're not always

1878
01:02:15,574 --> 01:02:17,014
at the office, but you could always stick

1879
01:02:17,014 --> 01:02:18,295
us a note on the office door if

1880
01:02:18,295 --> 01:02:19,194
need be. But,

1881
01:02:19,679 --> 01:02:21,280
there's always a way to get get to

1882
01:02:21,280 --> 01:02:21,780
us,

1883
01:02:22,320 --> 01:02:22,820
somebody,

1884
01:02:23,199 --> 01:02:25,199
the chamber, anybody can get you my number

1885
01:02:25,199 --> 01:02:26,800
and it goes straight to my personal cell

1886
01:02:26,800 --> 01:02:28,304
phone to be able to call and say,

1887
01:02:28,304 --> 01:02:29,664
how can I get involved or how can

1888
01:02:29,664 --> 01:02:32,164
I give? Plenty availability there. Absolutely.

1889
01:02:32,944 --> 01:02:34,944
Well, Leah, this has been wonderful. Is there

1890
01:02:34,944 --> 01:02:37,750
anything else we hadn't gone over, upcoming events,

1891
01:02:37,750 --> 01:02:39,349
or anything you can think of before we

1892
01:02:39,349 --> 01:02:41,190
wrap it up that you wanna discuss? I

1893
01:02:41,190 --> 01:02:43,030
don't I don't think I just encourage people

1894
01:02:43,030 --> 01:02:45,855
to get involved, you know, next weekend, chosen

1895
01:02:45,855 --> 01:02:47,554
is having their back to school bash.

1896
01:02:48,094 --> 01:02:50,414
We're sponsoring a table and we've been asked

1897
01:02:50,414 --> 01:02:52,275
to supply all of the glue bottles

1898
01:02:53,070 --> 01:02:54,429
that the kids will get. Last year, they

1899
01:02:54,429 --> 01:02:56,210
served over 800 children

1900
01:02:56,590 --> 01:02:58,429
that came through to pack a backpack to

1901
01:02:58,429 --> 01:02:59,409
go back to school,

1902
01:02:59,789 --> 01:03:02,074
and that's an amazing thing. You know, it

1903
01:03:02,074 --> 01:03:03,054
doesn't take much

1904
01:03:03,515 --> 01:03:05,195
just to be able to to help with

1905
01:03:05,195 --> 01:03:07,934
that. So if it if it's not us,

1906
01:03:08,289 --> 01:03:09,109
find somebody

1907
01:03:09,409 --> 01:03:11,329
in your community to get involved with. I

1908
01:03:11,329 --> 01:03:13,489
had at the Boobash Dash, I had several

1909
01:03:13,650 --> 01:03:15,829
I off I always invite as many nonprofits

1910
01:03:16,049 --> 01:03:17,029
out as they want.

1911
01:03:17,344 --> 01:03:18,704
And somebody laughed at me one time and

1912
01:03:18,704 --> 01:03:19,744
said, well, what are you trying to do?

1913
01:03:19,744 --> 01:03:21,265
Give money away? And I said, you know

1914
01:03:21,265 --> 01:03:23,445
what? Cost is not for everybody,

1915
01:03:23,905 --> 01:03:26,230
but there is something out there for everybody.

1916
01:03:26,369 --> 01:03:28,050
So find a way to plug in and

1917
01:03:28,050 --> 01:03:29,969
get involved in your nonprofits and in your

1918
01:03:29,969 --> 01:03:32,050
community. Sure. And I mean well, I mean,

1919
01:03:32,050 --> 01:03:34,469
I think, you know, obviously, you,

1920
01:03:35,015 --> 01:03:36,394
Misty with Isaiah 117,

1921
01:03:37,894 --> 01:03:40,215
the open door pregnancy center. Sean over there,

1922
01:03:40,215 --> 01:03:41,815
I've interviewed her on this. We did her

1923
01:03:41,815 --> 01:03:43,800
ribbon cutting for her mobile unit this morning.

1924
01:03:43,860 --> 01:03:45,700
No kidding. She got a mobile unit. She

1925
01:03:45,700 --> 01:03:46,200
does

1926
01:03:46,579 --> 01:03:47,940
that gum. Well, that was last year. I

1927
01:03:47,940 --> 01:03:49,940
think I was last year we talked about.

1928
01:03:49,940 --> 01:03:50,519
I mean,

1929
01:03:51,554 --> 01:03:53,474
there's so much out there what you're talking

1930
01:03:53,474 --> 01:03:55,235
about Yeah. Where people can get involved and,

1931
01:03:56,994 --> 01:03:59,550
you know, serve others Mhmm. In that way.

1932
01:03:59,630 --> 01:03:59,949
And,

1933
01:04:00,510 --> 01:04:02,750
you know, we need to stop becoming so

1934
01:04:02,750 --> 01:04:05,230
focused on ourselves and and and think about

1935
01:04:05,230 --> 01:04:07,010
others because there's a massive need,

1936
01:04:07,804 --> 01:04:09,565
that sort of thing out there is volunteer

1937
01:04:09,565 --> 01:04:10,545
work and just

1938
01:04:10,844 --> 01:04:12,625
kingdom work in that way. That's right.

1939
01:04:13,244 --> 01:04:15,405
Everything you're doing, god bless you. It's it's

1940
01:04:15,405 --> 01:04:17,900
wonderful to hear about what's what Casa is.

1941
01:04:17,900 --> 01:04:20,619
You've educated me and shined a light on

1942
01:04:20,619 --> 01:04:22,539
it in a major way. So thank you

1943
01:04:22,539 --> 01:04:23,599
so much for that.

1944
01:04:23,900 --> 01:04:24,300
And,

1945
01:04:24,934 --> 01:04:26,295
if you're good, we'll go ahead and wrap

1946
01:04:26,295 --> 01:04:27,734
it up for you. Well, thank you so

1947
01:04:27,734 --> 01:04:29,734
much for having me. Yes, ma'am. Thank you.

1948
01:04:29,734 --> 01:04:32,054
Alright. Y'all appreciate you listening to this episode.

1949
01:04:32,054 --> 01:04:33,574
Be sure to tune in next week for

1950
01:04:33,574 --> 01:04:34,730
another one. Bye

1951
01:04:36,469 --> 01:04:38,889
bye. Thanks for listening to the grazing podcast.

1952
01:04:39,029 --> 01:04:40,170
Be sure to subscribe,

1953
01:04:40,630 --> 01:04:42,389
leave us a review, and come pay us

1954
01:04:42,389 --> 01:04:44,875
a visit at Robertson Cheatham Farmers Co

1955
01:04:47,655 --> 01:04:48,155
op.