Inside Richmond: The City's Pulse
Inside Richmond: The City's Pulse is your go-to podcast for staying connected with the heart of Richmond, Indiana. Dive into the latest community updates, local events, city initiatives, and stories that matter most to our vibrant community. Whether you're a lifelong resident or new to the area, this podcast keeps you in tune with the pulse of Richmond!
Inside Richmond: The City's Pulse
Episode 12 – Inside Richmond: The City's Pulse | The CASA Mission in Wayne & Union County
"The One Constant in a Child’s Life" – A Conversation with Natalie Natusch from Wayne-Union CASA
When a child enters the foster care system due to abuse or neglect, their world is turned upside down. In an instant, they’re surrounded by unfamiliar faces—caseworkers, attorneys, foster parents, therapists—all trying to help, but all stretched thin. Amid this whirlwind of change, what if one adult focused solely on the child’s best interests? One person who showed up consistently, listened, and stood by them every step of the way?
That’s where CASA steps in.
In this moving episode, Natalie Natusch from Wayne-Union CASA joins host Lindsay Darnell to share the incredible impact of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). These trained volunteers aren’t social workers or lawyers—they’re everyday people from all walks of life who serve as a steady presence for children navigating one of the most traumatic times in their lives. And the impact they have is life-changing.
Natalie explains how CASA volunteers become the eyes, ears, and voice of the child in court. While most professionals in the system are juggling multiple cases—sometimes dozens—a CASA volunteer is typically assigned to just one child or sibling group at a time. That focus allows for a deep, personal relationship, and ensures the child doesn’t fall through the cracks of an overburdened system.
The results speak volumes. Research shows that children with CASA advocates are:
- More likely to succeed in school
- Less likely to re-enter foster care
- More likely to find a permanent, stable home
Natalie shares powerful stories, including one about six siblings who experienced severe abuse and trafficking. Thanks to the unwavering support of a CASA volunteer, they were not only kept together but eventually reunited with their rehabilitated parents—proof that healing and hope are possible, even in the most difficult situations.
But the need is still great. As of now, 109 children in Wayne and Union counties are waiting for someone to be their advocate. Becoming a CASA volunteer requires commitment—30 hours of initial training, monthly visits with the assigned child, and ongoing communication with professionals in the case. But the most important qualification isn’t legal knowledge or social work experience—it’s simply a heart for children.
If you’ve ever wondered how to make a real difference in your community, this is your moment.
You can learn more about CASA and how to get involved by visiting www.wayneunioncasa.org. Join their next informational session on July 30th at Morrison Reeves Library, or stop by their booth at upcoming community events like Archway Days to meet the team and ask questions.
One volunteer. One child. One life forever changed. You could be the person a child in foster care is waiting for.
Welcome back to another episode of Inside Richmond, the City's Pulse. I'm Lindsay Darnell, your host, and today I have Natalie N joining us from the Wayne, union County, casa. Natalie, thank you. Thank you for having me. Yes, so we've got you on here. You reached out to me and I'm glad you did, because your organization does a lot of good within the community. So can you introduce CASA and what does it stand for? And how did the Wayne and Union County program get its start?
Speaker 2:Okay, so just a little bit about CASA. So Wayne, union County. Casa stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates. Wayne, union County. Casa stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates and we have volunteer advocates as well as a staff advocate that advocate for the best interest of the child. So these are children that have been abused and or neglected in our community and removed from their home. They're in foster care and we are sort of like a helper or an oversight almost. In the system there's a lot of different players and pieces, so we're different from DCS.
Speaker 1:We don't do what DCS does.
Speaker 2:We only get to know the child and their holistic situation, all the people and players in their life, and make the best interest advocations for them with the court.
Speaker 1:Okay, the mission states that CASA stands up for abused and neglected children to help them find safe, permanent homes. How does that manifest in day-to-day work?
Speaker 2:So for our volunteers it's not so much day-to-day work Our office staff it's a little bit more day-to-day. Our volunteers I would think of it more of a monthly commitment, about 10 to 15 hours a month, and a huge part of that is getting to know the child that you're working with. So our volunteers are required to have at least one meeting a month with that child and also collect all the data and information and, like I said before, get to know all of the players to form a holistic picture of what that child's life looks like. Our goal is always reunification when possible with the parents. So that's something to note. But in occasions where that's not possible, then the advocacy could turn into a safe, permanent placement in a different way.
Speaker 1:Okay, and your program serves both Wayne and Union counties and is certified by the Indiana Supreme Court. How does that affiliation shape your training and operations?
Speaker 2:I feel like that makes our training a little bit more robust. So we actually, at a state level, just rolled out a hybrid training program which I personally participated in to have that experience, and I found it to be very, very beneficial working with some amazing people on a state level, and then, after those parts of the training were over, the last part was done in our local office at a local level, and I thought that that was a really nice touch. But we also still do have sort of a streamlined program that goes along with the state guidelines but also supports our local interests, because each county does look a little bit different on how things work.
Speaker 1:Okay, so going back to volunteers, because you have your small office that has you guys in it and then the volunteers Can you tell us what exactly does a CASA volunteer do, from investigation to court appearances?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so after a volunteer goes through training and a background check, they'll spend a little bit of time in court seeing what a real case looks like. So it's not just a blind thing you have to keep in mind. The number one way that you advocate for a child and give them a voice is through your court reporting. So that court report gets submitted to our office approximately 10 days before the court date and that gives time for proofreading or any adjustments that need to be made. And then it goes to the judge and the judge utilizes that information to help make decisions, because it turns out our judges can't be everywhere all the time. Yeah, so part of the investigation I don't know if I want to call it an investigation, but part of the process I guess I'll refer back to best interest advocacy, which would be learning, engaging, recommending, collaborating and reporting, which would be learning, engaging, recommending, collaborating and reporting. So the first thing we want to do is learn about the situation. We're going to go through all of the data as a volunteer, find out what brought the child into care about the different people involved in their life and any issues they might be having. It could be a medical issue, a mental health issue, school issues, just really a whole picture of that child. Then we're going to engage with that child. We want to know them, know about them. They're more than just someone on a piece of paper, right, like anybody can take data from a piece of paper and read and say, okay, I think I know Lindsay now because I read about her. Actually, engaging with a person face-to-face might give you a different picture or a different perspective. So it's really important to make that connection for best advocacy.
Speaker 2:Then, based on those two parts of the puzzle, that is where our recommending for a volunteer would come in. So you're going to be making those recommendations in your court report that reflect the information that you've learned from data and also engagement. Everything is black and white, so if you make a recommendation, you need to be able to reference it back somewhere else in your court report. Everything is fact-based. So that's important.
Speaker 2:And then collaborating you need to be a good collaborator. You're going to, as a volunteer, work with a lot of different people biological parents, foster parents. It could be a provider, a school teacher, a guidance counselor. Obviously, the child is most important, front and center, but collaboration is a huge part. And then reporting like I said, everything ties back to that court report. We want to make sure that our volunteers get the support they need, so we don't just throw you to the wolves for court reporting. We have a template. It's covered thoroughly in your training. In fact, you'll do a mock court report with a case where it would look like a real case, except for a child, to make sure that you're secure in that moving forward.
Speaker 1:Can you discuss a time when a volunteer's advocacy significantly influenced a court's decision?
Speaker 2:I would actually be bold enough to say that that's all the time.
Speaker 1:All the time.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I think that in a perfect scenario, every child would have an advocate, because there are so many different players and pieces involved in the work that we do. I mean, even outside of CASA. Just a child's journey through being removed from the home. I think that every single time there's a CASA, it's another set of eyes, it's another safety in place. The reality is most of our CASA volunteers have one case, usually maybe one or two. So if you have time to direct your attention to one child versus DCS which I'm not throwing them under the bus they do great and amazing work, but the reality is like they're over under the bus. They do great and amazing work, but the reality is like they're overburdened. They have tons and tons of cases and they're collecting data and they're getting all the information, but they have so many people to worry about. So it's nice to have that extra set of eyes just on that child.
Speaker 1:I didn't ever really think of it that way, but that's a great way to explain. A volunteer is yes, they have multiple cases that they're watching, but you have one volunteer that's specifically with this one child. They're not going from this child to this child so they can have more eyes and more you know perception of what's going on right it's a lot easier to be responsible for one child's case than, let's say, 12 or 14 children's cases.
Speaker 2:I I mean there's a huge difference. There's only so many hours in the day and, like I said, I'm not saying anything bad about anyone. I really admire the work that everyone does to play their part in the system. But, speaking just from the CASA role, I think that extra set of eyes sometimes is really nice to have someone just for the child.
Speaker 1:So do you guys only give your volunteers one child at a time?
Speaker 2:So usually, and definitely to start, we would only give you one child at a time. We do have a very, very, very, very long-time volunteer. I'm not going to say how many years Throw her under the bus. She's amazing and she knows who she is, so she can take more than one at a time. But you know again, it's a volunteer position. No one wants to overwhelm someone or and we also, you know there's limits on what we can and can't do too, right, yeah.
Speaker 1:Now and we were talking before the podcast started and something that you had mentioned really resonates is that there's compassion burnout.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So you don't want to burn out your volunteers as well.
Speaker 2:We do not want to burn out our volunteers. I think that we have safeties in place to make sure that our volunteers feel supported and we want to help them and engage with them in any way that we can. I would hope that our volunteers feel like they can talk to us if they are experiencing anything like that. Right, but we try to do a good job of getting people together for meetings and, you know, partnering and mentoring. Where we need to, we're always there. If someone needs help, you know it can. It can be tough work sometimes. It's not for everyone. I'll be transparent, like sometimes things are sad, but then the things that are happy are amazing and you really do make a huge difference in a child's life.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that's amazing. That's amazing work what you guys are doing right now. Thank, you. So the next question that I would like to ask is with nearly 3000 children in care statewide and 118 supported locally in 2023, what's the typical caseload per volunteer? Are you fully staffed?
Speaker 2:We are definitely not fully staffed as far as volunteers go. We are less than one sixth staffed as far as volunteers go. So I actually got this figure yesterday. So, as of yesterday, we have 109 kids in our program that are still waiting for an advocate. So in a perfect world, every child would have an advocate to you know, be their voice and look out for their best interests. So it's kind of a sobering number when you think about it. So yeah, as of yesterday, 109 kids.
Speaker 1:How many volunteers do you guys have in Wayne County? Do you have that number or is it a collective of Wayne?
Speaker 2:So we have a collective of Wayne and Union County. Right now I think we have about 13 volunteers for Wayne County. We also have a few that are I think we have two or three that are pending people who are going through the process and going to complete their training and move forward. So that's really nice. But ideally, in a perfect world, if I could wave my magic wand, we would have 60 volunteers in Wayne County to be able to support our program needs the best Right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, now let's see. Can you walk us through the training process? How do you recruit, screen and prepare volunteers for the sensitive work?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it definitely is sensitive work. If you're considering coming into this, you do have to realize that you're going to have sensitive information about children and also their parents, so it's really important to keep that private. That's part of your oath when you get sworn in in court. After the end of your training, the main things that you need to know to be a volunteer you must be at least 21 years old, have a high school diploma. You have to pass a background check.
Speaker 2:I will say one thing that I would advocate for is if you have a blip, like, let's say, when you were 17, you got arrested for reckless driving or something like that, please disclose that. And you're 52 now. I still need you to disclose that, because sometimes we do have things that come up and people think, oh well, I was a minor so it didn't matter. But we need you to be transparent. I'm not saying that means you will be accepted or you will be precluded, but I just ask for people to be honest about that background check. So that's part of it. But the number one thing I need you to have if you want to be a volunteer advocate is a heart for children, so someone who's compassionate. We can teach you the rest right. So if your heart's in the right place and you feel called to do this, we can let you know about everything else and provide that training. But a big part of that is you have to be responsible and accountable with that information.
Speaker 1:Yeah, do you guys get this information out a lot, or does it typically just kind of come into effect when there is a child that comes in and is needing an advocate? How do you get the information out that you are in need of volunteers?
Speaker 2:So we're always in need of volunteers. Right now. I'm new to this position even though I'm not new to CASA, like I shared with you previously and I am just starting in this role to try to get that information out. My seat had been vacant for a long time prior to me coming in, so I've tried to really engage with different community events. We've done some sponsorships. I'm sure you've seen my signs all over town. I think I've plastered both counties. So shout out to all the local businesses for doing that and supporting us with our flyers. That's been great. We have some coffee shops even that have been letting us do like a sleeve campaign with some stickers and just we're just posting and trying to get everything everywhere we can. We just want to make people aware we're here.
Speaker 2:I think a lot of people don't know about our program. That's a big part of it. And I think a lot of people don't know about our program that's a big part of it. And I think a lot of people feel intimidated because it is a big volunteer position or they think like, oh, I have to be a teacher or a psychologist or whatever. No, we need people from every walk of life. Interestingly, when looking at our data yesterday. Our data for the kids in care similarly reflects the data of our community, the demographics. So we need all different demographics from people from our community to support that and make sure that everyone's represented the best way possible.
Speaker 1:So tell us where your office is located.
Speaker 2:So our office is located on the first floor of the Wayne County Courthouse, so we're right there in the courthouse for ease and accessibility, and that's also where we hold our meetings with our volunteers. So, like I said before, we try to get together about once a month for a volunteer meeting. We also have a newsletter. We have ongoing training opportunities that are usually online as well. So we do have that because it's important, are usually online as well. So we do have that because it's important. So we have to do about 12 hours a year of ongoing training, on top of that 30 hours of initial training.
Speaker 1:Now does the volunteers come to your office at the courthouse to meet with the child or no, actually they meet with the child in the community.
Speaker 2:So most often it's in the home where the child is placed, but sometimes you'll have a foster parent, or whatever the placement situation is that might want to meet at a park, the library. I've had kids that I've gotten to know ask me to come to school lunch with them and meet with them there, so that always feels really nice. So we don't drive the children anywhere. So it has to be somewhere that works out for the placement to meet us at to spend that time together.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, that's what I was curious. I was wondering like does the volunteers come and pick them up, maybe take them to McDonald's and sit down and talk to them over a happy meal, or yeah? Well, unfortunately we can't do that, so All right, so that's good for the clarification. Yeah, we can't do that, so All right, so that's good for the clarification. Yeah, beyond training, how do you support the volunteers emotionally?
Speaker 2:I know that you were saying you have mentorship you guys have meetings monthly to have them come in, is there a hotline that they can call?
Speaker 2:So I have a work cell phone and everyone knows I'm always available, so I leave it on pretty much all the time. If you're a volunteer, I don't care if it's 2 pm on my day off or 2 am on a weekend. If you are in crisis or having a problem like, you're always welcome to call and you know we'll help you get whatever support you need. I will say that I think our volunteers are great and a lot of the things that are sort of barriers towards compassion burnout we really talk about and cover in our training as well, and when you couple that with the supports that we have in place, I think that we're really lucky that we have the ability to support our volunteers in a way where I think that would be an outlier situation. I'm not going to say it never happens, because it could happen to anyone at any time, but I do think that our volunteers are really well prepped and that we make things happen for them to prevent that.
Speaker 1:That's really good that you guys are there and that support system's there for your volunteers. What advice would you give someone who's been on the fence about applying, and what qualities make an excellent CASA volunteer?
Speaker 2:So if you're on the fence about applying, I think that already means you're a yes, because you wouldn't be considering taking on something like this if it wasn't already sort of on your heart. So I would encourage you just to come out and learn more. Also, you're welcome to. You can look on our website so you can email us. You can call us, we're happy to talk you. Look on our website so you can email us. You can call us, we're happy to talk you through any questions or concerns you might have.
Speaker 2:I know that everyone's are different, right, so we have a lot of conversations. But, yeah, if you think it's for you just take. Take the leap right, because it is a process with the volunteerism, to get involved, because we do have to. You do your application and then we require three references. The references return a survey about you. We do the background check and an interview. Like it is kind of a lengthy process to become a volunteer because it is serious work. It's very rewarding, but you know it is a child's life, yeah, so yes, which is very important because their life is just beginning.
Speaker 2:Right and we want all of them to have the best opportunity possible, which is why we're all doing this Right. So, but yeah, if you're on the fence, come on out, learn more, ask questions, don't be afraid. We would love to give you any information you're looking for in a realistic way. According to research, children with a CASA they fare better in general. So this is something that we know. They're more likely to find a safe, permanent home, which is a great thing, obviously. They're more likely to succeed in school, and one of my favorite facts is that they are half as likely to reenter the foster care system.
Speaker 2:So, unfortunately, sometimes children do reenter the foster care system, but they have found that children supported by a CASA are half as likely. And it's also just sort of like a fun CASA fact to note, because there's so many people involved in the process. Once a child enters care, a lot of times, depending on what stage they're at, they might have different kinds of providers that move around or rotate, so they see a lot of changing faces and sometimes they even change placements in homes and things. So they see a lot of changing faces and sometimes they even change placements and homes and things. So if you're a CASA who comes in to the case. You might be the only consistent person that child sees from beginning to end, and I think that's something really special and just a unique way that we can support that child by being there as a consistent figure in their life.
Speaker 1:And that could be scary for a child to see so many different faces. You know I couldn't even imagine that if I was placed somewhere else that wasn't my home, even if it wasn't the the greatest you know situation, and then having to move or constantly move. I mean we hear about that all the time that you know some kids are being placed in, you know, multiple foster homes a year. I've never really thought of it being local. I've, you know, heard stories about it or we've seen TV shows or movies that kind of hit on that, but no one really knows like the real you know situation that's really happening in real life. You know we kind of just see things like they're in a movie. So to be that consistent figure in a child's life is really important for them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it is really important and, like I said, you get to know them and you actually form a relationship. You'll be surprised. So I can talk from personal experience since I started out as a volunteer way back when I did it because I had sort of a soft spot in my heart for children that you know had been abused or neglected and I wasn't sure how long I would do it or what the impact would be. The question in the back of my mind was like am I really going to make a difference as a volunteer? And then, after I saw my first case through, I just couldn't believe it. It was overwhelming and I was able to see the impact that I made on that child go from a really bad situation to a really good situation. So, yeah, it's just, it's really really, really rewarding.
Speaker 1:And that is, you know, rewarding that you can see the impact that you make on a child.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and not just a child, a family, because you know, a lot of times when you start this journey with a child's case, you're seeing that family at the worst point in their lives, right Like. I don't think any of us want judged on our worst day or the worst thing we've ever done. One of the things that we cover in training is definitely bias. You know you have to definitely look at things through a resource lens and find the positives, because we all have positives and negatives, no matter who we are. So it's just really important to remember that like this is a family, whatever that looks like. You know, their definition of family is like this is the child's family and again, to reiterate, reunification is always our goal where possible to to bring that family back together. Now, the parent parts, the other people, that's DCS, that's other providers, but for the child, you know we really have to keep that in perspective know we really have to keep that in perspective.
Speaker 1:So I know you were kind of talking a little bit about this, but if you had unlimited volunteers, what would your dream impact look like in Wayne and Union counties?
Speaker 2:So if I could wave my magic wand and I had my dream volunteers, I think that the impact would be that we would have children that were everybody was advocated for and best served. So every child's best interest would be at heart and be, you know, covered and through that court reporting, you know, going directly to the judge. That's the judge's eyes and ears, right. So I wish that for every child who's in care, I wish for them to have the best outcome for their life and to support them in every way possible. And I think that if we did have more volunteers to impact more children, that that would be, you know, a great accomplishment. And, like I already touched on, so children are half as likely to end up back in care. I can't say because we don't know, it hasn't happened, but I would like to believe that if we could do that, it would cut down on children care in Wayne and Union counties in general.
Speaker 1:Do you have a memorable success story where a permanent nurturing home became possible thanks to CASA?
Speaker 2:Yes, I do. Actually, I'll try not to cry. I'm a crier, so buckle up everybody, okay, don't cry because I might cry, okay. So we're going to try to not make everyone cry in here today. So I had a case once with six siblings and when this case began the children had been removed for pretty much every kind of neglect and abuse you can cover, including a couple of them had been trafficked.
Speaker 2:It was very severe. It was very severe and I at that point, even with using my non-biased lens, would have bet you any amount of money that those kids probably were never going to be able to go home, like I really thought it wasn't going to happen. There were a lot of mental health issues with parents and children. There were also some health issues with some of the children there was. It was just a lot.
Speaker 2:There was a lot going on and this case actually ended up going on for years and by the time the case was done, the oldest child had actually graduated high school and ended up going to college, because that child had been able to turn their life around by being supported by services that were put into placement that I had recommended. So basically, every child ended up having a great outcome. The parents did all of their services through DCS and the family was reunited and stayed together. And, as of my last checkup, this has been like years ago um, not like check up, but because some of the kids are adults, they had like reached out to me through other avenues. You don't usually stay in contact with a child, but if you're an adult and you decide to contact me, you know like'm not going to say no and it was still a success.
Speaker 1:So were you the volunteer for all six? I was yes.
Speaker 2:Yes, that's not a normal situation. That's not a normal situation, but I had been a volunteer for a long time at that point and I felt comfortable doing that.
Speaker 1:So well, and that's. I think that's a great thing that you were able to do, because you had the experience and so you kind of already knew how to go about it, but to keep all of the siblings with one volunteer, so they're not just seeing multiple people at different times.
Speaker 2:And they were actually placed in different placements at different times.
Speaker 2:Oh, so you were having to, so I was like yeah, and they had moved around a couple of times and so there were there were a lot of moving pieces. But I think that every, every court case that I've ever been assigned to, you know, I'm really thankful for and I would consider to be a beautiful outcome, no matter what it is, because in every situation either reunification has occurred or the child has found a permanent, safe and loving home. But that one just stands out to me because you know it was like a big sibling group and they all went on and it was really, it was really beautiful.
Speaker 1:Able to come back and all stay together yeah.
Speaker 2:With mom and dad. That's great.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's great. Can you share a personal moment that reminds you why this work matters, Something that touched you deeply? I know you talked about this, but do you have any other? Or maybe tell us you know how did you get started? Did you hear about CASA?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I actually at the time I knew I've always been a big believer in advocacy and activism. Right, I think you should help out in your community wherever that's at. That's huge to me. And I was in a new community at the time looking for something to do, and I kept going through all these different things and saying none of these really inspire me. I don't really know. And then I read about CASA and I was like, wow, I think that might be something I'm really interested in. But, like a lot of people think, I was like, oh, they probably wouldn't want me. I think they probably want a certain kind of volunteer who's better than me. That's what I thought at the time, right, and so I went to an informational session. I learned more, I talked to the director and the recruiter and then I was like, okay, like this is for me, I'm going to. I just knew I'm going to do this.
Speaker 1:After you went to the informational yeah, it's like once.
Speaker 2:I went to the informational session and I understood more about how it worked. I became much more comfortable and that's why I always encourage people Like if you have a question or you're on the fence, please reach out. Like we can explain there's. It's so much information that you're getting like a blip of it right now. Like I can sit here and tell you like you need 30 hours of training and you need to do this and you need to do that, but you know one-on-one, I can answer your finer questions.
Speaker 1:Okay, tell us a little bit about how the program started.
Speaker 2:Okay, so, as you know, there is an Indiana CASA, there's also a national CASA and the program in Wing Union County originally began in 1989, but that was several directors ago and it didn't always look the same as it does now. So the current iteration of our program actually began in 2005, doing work in this capacity with volunteers and advocacy.
Speaker 1:That's amazing. Can you tell us about upcoming events or volunteer orientations that's going to be happening within this year or even next year?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I can definitely share that with you. So if you want more information, we will have an in-depth information session coming up on July 30th, which is a Wednesday, at the Morrison Reeves Library in the Bard Room. It will be from 6 to 7 pm and we'll also have a Q&A after that's over. I can also stick around and answer any questions that people have one-on-one. As far as upcoming trainings and different things like that, we always have trainings upcoming, so when we have enough volunteers who sign up, we hold a training, yeah, and so that 30 hours is spread out it's not all at once where we're like okay, come here for two days or three days. Like you know, we want you to have time to digest and really get the information and do the work in between. So, yep, we always have trainings available. And, like I said, first step, like you just have to fill out that application, because it does take some time to go through that whole process with the background check and everything.
Speaker 1:And that application can be found on your guys' website, yep.
Speaker 2:You can find the application on our website. It's right there. It's easy to click on. Also, if you're out and about and you see our signs and flyers in town, the QR code will take you to our website and my contact information is also on there my email and my work phone number.
Speaker 1:Okay, so that is the first step to becoming a volunteer. Is the application?
Speaker 2:yes, so before we can do any training, we need to make sure that you know you're a good fit for the program and also that the program is a good fit for you. So it's to help everyone and make sure that you know everyone will be happy.
Speaker 1:Yes, so my last question is going to be how can listeners step in, whether as volunteers or advocates.
Speaker 2:So I think that everybody can be an advocate in a way, maybe not a court appointed special advocate, but just be engaged in your community. You know they say it takes a village to raise a child, and that's really true. This is not a CASA lens, this is a personal lens. I think that we've really gotten away from that concept of a village raising a child. We don't all know our neighbors anymore. You know everyone's sort of removed and busy and on social media. Like, just take an interest in your community. You never know who you're going to impact in your day to day routine. So if you see something and you know that it's horrific and wildly inappropriate, everyone thinks, oh well, I'm not going to call that in because someone else is going to call it in. I'm not saying just go call on anything everybody. So don't take this out of context, right?
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:But I mean, if you see something you know is definitely not okay, look out for children, look out for all of the kids in our community.
Speaker 1:Protect everyone in our community and that's very great advice, because I don't know if you have seen social experience on. You know online they have videos of social experience, but a lot of times bystanders will not say anything, they'll just keep walking and you know, you never know. If that was a real scenario, that child could be gone.
Speaker 2:Yeah, whatever could happen, and so it's important that we all look out for each other, right? So we're also going to be at Archway Days, the 4th Street Fair and Canal Days coming up, so if you don't have time to come out to the Morrison Reeves Library, you can check us out there and you know we're happy to chat about information or feel free to reach out to the office.
Speaker 1:Okay, natalie, thank you so much for joining us. I am so glad that you contacted me. This has been an eye-opener to see everything that you guys do, and then a call to action to help get volunteers for you guys.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much, lindsay, and I hope that someone hearing this you know either CASA is right for you or maybe you know someone so pass on the word.
Speaker 1:Definitely, that's Inside Richmond, the city's boss, until next time.