Advocate Spotlight: Ariane Pupali

Meet Ariane Pupali, the October Advocate Spotlight for 2022. Ariane is one of those special people who recognizes a need in her community and asks how can she help. She was aware that some of our most vulnerable population, our at-risk youth, needed a voice and she decided to contact CASA after seeing a television commercial regarding advocacy.

Ariane began advocating at CASA of Luzerne County in 2020. Although she has a full time career and two children of her own she knew it was important for her to give something back through advocacy.

She realized she had the skill set, compassion and interest to make a small difference but most of all she had the desire to serve.

Ariane is reflective of the most eye opening part of her advocacy, which is reviewing a child’s case file. It is so impactful to absorb what they have been through and the magnitude of trauma and adversity they have faced. She feels as though the most positive outcome for the children she has advocated for is helping build their resilience and advocating for their safety and best interest.

When asked what advice she would give to potential advocates, Ariane stresses to, “Just do it!”. She was quick to follow up with how the reward far outweighs the commitments and sacrifice.

Ariane would like to express how valuable the training is that CASA advocates receive and how prepared it makes you feel. She would also like to note that you receive so much support from the advocate coordinators that you are never alone on your journey.

She believes the most important part of being an advocate is showing up for children who are accustomed to being abused and neglected and reminding them of their value and restoring their trust.

Ariane is humbled and full of gratitude to be a part of such a beautiful organization.

We are grateful to Ariane for her commitment to her advocacy and commitment to her community. If you’d like to make a difference in the life of a child in the way Ariane has, we invite you to join us for an info session to learn more about advocacy and what it means to be a CASA.

Ariane lives in West Pittston with her children, Nora(6) and Noah(14) and her Yorkie named Chewy. She has a BBA in Architectural Design and is employed by InPro Corporation.

Advocate Spotlight: M. B. and Isabella

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.