Most vulnerable given a voice in court; United Way helps make it happen
Editor’s note: The United Way of the Gorge’s annual Auction and Concert at The Bargeway Pub is tonight July 21. It’s the major fundraiser for Wasco and Sherman counties as they support nonprofits such as Columbia Gorge CASA with donations. Tickets for the Concert and Auction are available online here or at Bargeway on the day of the event.
By Tom Peterson
An orange and blue cuff about the wrist of three people - two little kids and an adult - was detailed with blue flowers with a little yellow dot at the center.
Cheery and bright.
Seemingly inconsequential. Children wear them all the time.
Friendship bracelets.
But these had powerful attributes.
On this day, these two kids were not on the playground or in a park, but logging into a Zoom conference in a courtroom. They’re there through no fault of their own.
Brigitte Barnes, CASA volunteer and Board Member of Columbia Gorge CASA
They had been removed from their parents and their home.
And they needed to talk to the judge about their lives, and it was scary.
It was 35-five-year-old Brigitte Barnes, a Court Appointed Special Advocate or CASA, in that local courtroom, wearing that same bracelet.
The two kids logged in and immediately saw Brigitte’s familiar smiling face and that bracelet about her wrist.
The children looked down.
The same bracelet was on their own wrists - a simple gift from Brigitte. And they went on to tell the judge what they needed, despite their fear.
“I try to relive that anxiety,” Brigitte said earlier this week. “They knew they could be courageous and tell the judge what they had to say.”
She had also familiarized the children with the look of the courtroom and the judge’s photo before the hearing.
It was just a few of the details that Columbia Gorge CASA volunteers work out as they help local children who have been abused or neglected and are working through the court system toward a stable home environment.
“We’re there to just be the additional voice and to look at the entire case,” Brigitte said. “CASA is more of a friend for the children.”
“We come in and let them know I am going to be a voice in court for you… if you want the judge to know something, I can tell them.”
And these volunteers such as Brigitte provide a consistent positive adult figure at the hardest and most fragile time in a child’s life. Volunteers are assigned one case and follow the child or children through the time they are removed from their home until they are placed into a permanent and stable home. It requires on average about 10 hours a month, Brigitte said.
United Way of the Columbia Gorge supports the program, fundraising and donating $14,244 to Columbia Gorge CASA during the last funding cycle, said Christopher Janetzko, Executive Director.
The money helps CASA as they recruit and train volunteers.
“It’s one of the most tangible ways people in the community can make an impact,” Janetzko said. “People who are frustrated about child abuse and neglect and get involved in the system and address that neglect and have a real impact. There are very few opportunities to get involved in the court system and ask what is best interest of the child.”
More about CASA:
The program was created about 45 years ago when Seattle Judge David Soukup realized he needed additional insight and communication with the children as he decided cases regarding their placement either back with their family or into foster care or guardianship, Janetzko said.
Since then, the program is has grown to 49 states and it is working in all 36 counties in Oregon. Columbia Gorge CASA provides services to Hood River, Wasco and Sherman counties.
To find out more about the program, click here, or call (541) 386-3468.
