THE SEPTEMBER ADVOCATE OF THE MONTH IS:

PATRICIA WILSON!

Patricia (Trish) Wilson is a zealous and committed member of the CASA team. She has been a CASA for only 5 short months but has quickly embodied her role as “an advocate for the child.”

Trish began her role as a CASA by accepting a case that required her to travel to Louisiana to meet with her assigned 17-year-old child with developmental delays. At the time, the child was not participating in school and would soon be aging out of the system with no desire to utilize any extended care benefits. Since taking on the case, Trish has visited her child regularly and is in constant contact with her via phone call and text messaging. This has enabled Trish to develop a close relationship with her child. Through many talks and mentoring, she has helped her child realize the value of an education and helped her to see that education is not out of her reach. Most recently, Trish encouraged her CASA child to apply for a scholarship through Pathways in Education that would pay for a trip to D.C., which she was ultimately offered. Not only was this an amazing learning experience for her child but it also provided her with credits towards graduation. Recently, Trish expressed interest in taking on a second case and was assigned 4 more children. She dove in and visited them within a week of being assigned the case.

As if all of that isn’t enough to keep Trish busy, she is also a huge supporter of CASA outside of advocacy and is passionate about getting others involved. She has offered to speak at CASA 101’s and speaks to others in her spheres of influence about CASA and what it means for her to be an advocate. In addition, she is constantly taking any opportunity presented to learn more, whether it’s attending in-service or observing court hearings and goes above and beyond completing her monthly duties.

Trish is a perfect example that you don’t have to be with CASA for an extended period of time to make an impact. Through her hard work, enthusiasm, and dedication she has exceeded our expectations of what we look for in an advocate. CASA feels extremely blessed to have her as part of the team and looks forward to seeing what the future holds for her and her CASA children.