CASA Volunteer Story: Why I volunteered to be a CASA.
As Gene and I sit here to write our “why” of becoming a CASA, our “why” is laying in a hospital bed beside us. In October 2018 this child came into our family through foster care. She was diagnosed with Crohn’s when she was 5 years old. When she was 7 years old she became very sick and malnourished as a result of neglect on the mother’s part due to substance abuse. Our son and his wife decided to become foster parents just for this child.
We met her and became familiar with the foster care system, we could see that there is a need for the children, foster families, and the biological parents. Not long after she became a part of our family, we were approached by a CASA recruiter about joining CASA. After praying about it, my husband and I decided this would be a way we could help.
This child who was in foster care lived with my son and daughter in law for 4 years. To begin with this mother was not in a good place. She was on drugs, in and out of jail, in rehabilitation, or nowhere to be found. Finally, she was sentenced to either jail or rehabilitation. The mother chose to participate in substance abuse rehabilitation at a christian rehabilitation center in Locust Grove. For the next 2 years, the mother worked very hard to become drug free and to get her life together. She accepted Jesus Christ as her savior and found her a home church with a support system. The mother got housing, a car and a job. She also married a christian man that is very supportive.
The last year this child lived with my son and daughter in law, I began to form a relationship with the mother. She and I became very close and remain close today. We brought the mother, her husband and their children into our family. We do holidays together. We celebrate birthdays together. My family is a source of support for them all. My husband and I have become Pops and Mimi not only to this child that had been in foster care, but to the child’s step-sister, her half sister, and her half brother. So this child is our “why”. She is currently in the hospital. She just had major surgery. Pops and I are staying at the hospital with her while the mother is home with the other children taking care of them. She is improving everyday. We know that our story is unique and we are so thankful that we have become family.
Gene and Rebecca Martin
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