The CASA staff chose our advocate, M. B., as our August Advocate Spotlight for 2022. M. B. declined due to her innate humble nature but she is so important to us that we wanted to share the story of M. B. and Isabella.
M. B. was sworn in as an advocate in the Spring of 2022. Although she is relatively new to CASA we all feel like she has been a part of our world for much longer. She is such a natural fit with CASA.
She is a retired teacher and has a great understanding of the needs of our youth. Her calm demeanor coupled with her sense of humor puts everyone at ease. M. B. is not only an advocate for CASA of Luzerne County but she donates her time to Ruth’s Place, giving of her time to other women who could learn so much from her.
We really want to highlight M. B.’s extraordinary advocacy with her youth, Isabella. Isabella is a 13yr old, beautiful young woman who has some serious anxiety issues. She has had truancy issues and was not attending school in person for many years. But M. B. knew she was so much more that what brought her into the dependency court system and has worked so hard with her to bring out all of her strengths.
M. B. visits with Isabella regularly and slowly began taking her out into the community. Small successes turned into bigger successes as M. B. guided her and made her feel safe. They began to visit our CASA Clubhouse together to do art projects and assist us with organizing our CASA Closet. In doing so, Isabella was able to interact with CASA staff and is now comfortable coming in and talking with all of us. M. B.’s next step was brining Isabella to one of CASA’s Art and Writing opportunities. They came together to see a muralist and participate in an art activity in the park with the NEPA Street Art Society. It started out bumpy but ended up being a great experience. During that activity Isabella was able to talk through her fears of attending Children’s Grief Camp at Hillside Farms, which was quickly approaching. M. B. explained that she would be there to support her, but her goal was for her to make a friend her own age. M. B. always jokes that Isabella shouldn’t only be friends with a 70 year old woman, but anyone would want to be friends with M. B.
Grief Camp came and throughout the week M. B. supported Isabella through some difficult moments but gave her wings to fly. She made a friend her own age and Isabella supplied the camp director with her email to ensure she was on the list for next year. The day of the butterfly release was truly representative of Isabella that week, we could see her changing before our eyes. Following her successful week at camp Isabella is excited to participate in more events with other youth, including the upcoming CASA Halloween Party. Isabella is gaining the confidence she needs to go back to school in person and have experiences she would have never tried without M. B.
We aren’t sure if M. B. realizes her incredible impact on Isabella but it is undeniable to all of us at CASA of Luzerne County. To watch their interactions warms our hearts- M. B. proves that sometimes the smallest acts add up to the biggest outcomes. Kindness, seeing strengths where others see deficits and taking a little time to foster a relationship will affect this youth in a positive way for the rest of her life.
We want to thank M. B. for her dedication to CASA of Luzerne County and let her know how much we appreciate all she does for us and Isabella. She lights up our day every time we see her.
If you’d like to make a difference in the life of a child in the way M. B. has, we invite you to join us for an info session to learn more about advocacy and what it means to be a CASA.
