"Imparting Hope"

Hi. My name is Gary Nowell.  I have been involved with CASA-CAN for two and half years.  Before I became a Guardian Ad Litem I worked to recruit volunteers for CASA through the Retired Senior Volunteer Program.  I also rode my bicycle from Glacier National Park to Yellowstone National Park to raise funds for the state CASA program in the annual Park2Park ride. 

At first all I knew about CASA-CAN was that they were “the voice for the child” who was abused and neglected and in the foster care system.  The goal of the program is that every child who is designated as Youth In Need Care has an advocate who will represent their best interest through court and foster care system.  Until I became a Guardian did I truly understand what being the voice for a child meant.

Being a guardian is about imparting hope to both the child and the parents.  I catch myself saying to them, “You can do this” or “You can make it.”  Without hope both the child and the parents give up moving forward in life. 

It is also about getting to know the child and the families.  As I observed the monitored visits at DPHHS the case aides are pointing the nuances in the behavior of child or the parent.  I began to look deeper and observe more closely.  I have learned to listen to the whole person.  It is like putting a jig saw puzzle together.  The guardian’s job is to ask, “How do all of these relationships fit together? And do they fit well together? “

My first case ended well.  I celebrated with the family and the DPHHS case worker of a successful reunification of the child with her father and grandparents.  I am in the middle of my second case and it is reading like a detective novel with plenty of twists and turns.  Even though I don’t know the exact ending I know that it will turn out well for the child because I am walking with him through this journey and am speaking out for his best interest along the way.