As an active volunteer advocate for the Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA, Tiffany has made a minimum two year commitment to provide advocacy for neglected and abused children so that these young kids are able to thrive in a safe home environment.
CASA, a national non-profit organization located in Santa Ana, strives to ensure a voice for all children, prepare them for the future, and provide each child with quality advocacy.
“We are a support system for these children, “ Tiffany says. “We’re the only stable person the child has in his or her life, and it’s fulfilling to be able to give him or her a voice and emotionally provide for them.”
CASA does not emphasize in simply spending copious amounts of money in taking the child to extravagant places, but rather creating a special bond and forming a relationship with him or her as what’s most important. The organization advertises special events, which you can take your child to such as recreational activities or even sporting events such as a Lakers game, baseball games, etc.
“It’s rewarding to build that special connection with a child, and creating a stable relationship,” she says, “what these children go through is unbelievable and you need to be there for them to lead a good example. It’s shocking what so many kids at such a young age have been exposed to and what type of environment they live in daily”.
Tiffany, who became a CASA last December, had heard about the organization initially through her sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta. To date, Theta has raised nearly one million dollars for the noble program, and some girls even get the chance to help out at CASA’s special events or social activities across the country.
However, Tiffany also found inspiration from others such as Robin McGraw (also known as Dr. Phil’s wife), who she had met during a sorority event at USC. Robin’s accomplishments and support for CASA motivated Tiffany to pursue her passion in helping underprivileged children.
“My passion for the program grew because of a lot of little connections that pushed me towards becoming an advocate,” Tiffany says. “I was curious through Theta, and grew passionate upon hearing the vital impact a CASA advocate can have on a child, and was inspired to be a CASA through meeting actual advocates and children who have had a CASA.”
Tiffany, though she cannot speak openly about her CASA child due to privacy and confidentiality rules, enjoys spending time with her CASA child.
“It’s hard to explain the potential I see in my child and I want to do my best to encourage and support him. There is a hopeless feeling in knowing that there are thousands of children just like my child, if not in even worse circumstances and situations that do not have someone to run alongside them. I am here to give my child a voice and to make a difference in at least one life.”
Joining CASA was not an easy process, because it requires training sessions held three times a week for four hours, screening tests, as well as two interviews until the individual gets sworn in at the Santa Ana Courthouse by a judge to become an official advocate.
As an advocate, Tiffany feels it has strengthened her life and perspective especially knowing that she is making a difference in a child’s life.
“It was during one of my training sessions when a child had come to share her experience of how CASA had changed her life. It was the epitome of me knowing that what I was embarking on would be life changing—for my child as well as myself. I am incredibly fortunate to be in a safe environment daily, which has naturally blocked out the reality that so many children are not as blessed—they don’t know where home is, who to trust, what love is or why no one loves them. I don’t think any child deserves that emptiness.”
Tiffany ends with a quote that she heard and strives to achieve everyday: “To give a child a CASA is to give them a voice. To give them a voice is to give them hope. And to give them hope is to give them the world.”