A MESSAGE FROM Hannah's Run for CASA (Foster Youth Advocates)
Join me in providing support and advocacy for children in Foster Care! Together we can ensure the rights of children are protected and shorten time spent in foster care.
I am running specifically with CASA of Cook County (where Chicago is located), but CASA exists nationwide as Court Appointed Special Advocates for foster youth by the court. CASAs get to speak to judges in their youth’s behalf. CASA exists for the child.
I’ve worked with foster youth first hand in my classroom and through supporting friends who have fostered. In learning about individual stories and the system overall, I believe that Foster Youth, and the unique challenges they face, deserve support and attention. Foster Youth are some of the most vulnerable kids in the country. Many experience trauma either by circumstance leading to foster care and/or by being separated from their families.
Not everyone can do everything, but everyone can do something! Being a foster parent is A LOT of work (appointments, visitation, court appearances, and more), but we CAN support those who are directly involved in the system. We can be the village needed to support children in the system by supporting CASA.
From CASA Cook County:
CASA volunteers are literally changing the future for children and youth in foster care. But one thing is missing—YOU! It costs CASA of Cook County $2,500 to serve a child for one year—versus the tens of thousands of dollars spent by the child welfare system. Those funds ensure CASA has the wrap-around staff to train and support volunteers so they can provide the very best trauma-informed, culturally relevant advocacy for a child.
