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Ruth Hall , CASA Volunteer “One of the best decisions I made when I retired was to become a CASA volunteer,” shared Ruth Hall. It means a lot to Ruth to be a voice for children while they are in the foster care system. “You just have to care about and love children and do what’s best for them,” said Ruth. What she didn’t realize was how critical her voice would become until she took her first case. Ruth was sworn in as an Officer of the Court in November, 2004. At that time, Ruth chose a 2-year-old boy who needed a heart transplant. The mother was accused of medical neglect, and the child was placed in a medical foster home. Once Ruth began working with the biological parents and the foster mother, she discovered that the mother wasn’t neglecting the child and that she loved him very much. The toddler was also diagnosed with asthma that had become severe in his foster home placement because of pets in the house. Ruth spent considerable time working with the biological family and the foster parent to achieve what would be the best outcome for this child. Because Ruth continued to be the consistent and constant voice in this young child’s life, his life has definitely been changed. What started out as a Termination of Parental Rights (TPR), has now shifted to allow the parents to have temporary custody. They will be filing for permanent custody by Christmas of this year. Ruth believes if she hadn’t been on this case, the boy probably would have been adopted by his foster mother, which was not in the best interest of the child, especially with his asthma. Since working with this child, Ruth is happy to report that the child is healthy. His asthma has improved, and he is back with his siblings. Ruth summed up her feelings by confirming “I love being a CASA and making a difference in someone’s life.” Ruth’s voice will continue to be heard as she recently took on two additional cases and has agreed to serve on the Project Recruit Committee. Project Recruit focuses on the targeted recruitment of African-American volunteers, with a special emphasis on African-American men. Ruth knows firsthand how important this is because more than 70 percent of the children in the foster care system are African American. Experience shows that it is important for a child going through the system to have someone with whom they can culturally identify and effectively communicate their needs. Ruth spreads the mission of CASA to her friends, alumni, church members and anyone else who will listen. “I believe that we can make a difference in our community by helping African American children find love and happiness in a system that can be scary, and without us, can get lost in that system. They need our voice to help them through to some kind of closure,” said Ruth. CASA is currently serving only 20 percent of the children who are in need of a CASA volunteer. To help CASA identify more volunteer recruitment opportunities in the community, please contact Kris Nienhaus at (314) 615-4403 or knienhaus@casastlcounty.org. |
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