A three hour stroll through Barnes & Noble gave CASA volunteer Angela Wintheiser, and her new CASA kiddo *Lynette, an opportunity to learn a great deal about one another. It was their first visit together and Angela’s first experience as a newly trained advocate. “When I picked Lynette up, I didn’t have a destination in mind. She wanted to go to a bookstore and we ended up walking every aisle of the bookstore and discussing books in every section ranging from Anime to politics. By the end of the afternoon, Lynette was confiding things to me she’d never shared with anyone before,” said Angela.

Lynette was 12 at the time and living in a foster placement with extended family along with her two siblings. Over the next couple of years, Angela and Lynette became very close, going to museums, theaters, restaurants and local college campuses together. “I tried to introduce her to everything I could think of. Everything we did together was a first for her. She’d never been to the county fair, never seen a farm animal. Olive Garden felt like fine-dining to her and she was a little uncomfortable until I assured her she had every right to be there alongside the other customers.” 

According to Angela, “Lynette began calling me “abuela” (Spanish for grandmother) and gave me beautiful hand-written notes of love and appreciation for our relationship.” When Lynette’s foster placement became permanent, Angela told her that her CASA case would close and she’d no longer be her advocate. “Lynette started crying when her case closed but I told her that our relationship wasn’t ending, now we would be friends, ‘in real life’. Lynette is now 14 and a freshman in high school and we still see each other often. We’ve recently been trying to learn how to crochet and we were so bad at it and laughed so hard together, we decided to settle on just making a simple potholder together.”

After Angela’s match with Lynette ended, her Advocate Supervisor, Amy Crowley, asked her if she’d like to consider a more challenging case with a young woman in juvenile hall. Orange County has a collaborative court program which serves youth in both the dependency and juvenile justice systems. Many of these youth have no one advocating on their behalf and benefit greatly from the presence of a skilled CASA by their side. 

Angela said, “My CASA training prepared me for my first case but Amy really helped prepare me for the juvenile justice piece. I got comfortable with it really quickly. Juvenile Hall is a dark, institutional environment but my new youth *Megan and I warmed up to one another pretty quickly.” She described those first few meetings when Megan was still in juvenile hall, “I would go visit her and sometimes just stayed and chatted for 1-2 hours. It’s like they forgot we were together - we just talked away.”

Now Megan is out of juvenile hall and living in transitional housing. If she meets all of the required guidelines, she will move to independent living in another month. Angela describes her as street smart and a tough cookie. “Megan is doing fantastic. She is learning to hold her tongue, take a breath and not allow situations to escalate. She is an assistant manager at her job and has a lot of ambition. I have faith she is going to succeed.” 

Angela goes on to say, “She was on the run from the system for almost 3 years living on the streets but decided to straighten herself out. Now she is 18 years old and trying to make it alone in the world with no family support. She recently put me down as her emergency contact and said, ‘you’re all I’ve got.’ Megan is very resourceful and utilizes the services that are available to her to move forward. She is seeing a therapist, recently went to the dentist, and got her state ID. She is working on herself for sure,” said Angela.

Angela gives a lot of credit to her supervisor Amy. “Amy is supreme - she anticipates things before I even think of them. She juggles so many cases yet still beats me to the punch to get funds and think of new things to do for our kids. I am a big fan.”

Amy speaks equally highly of Angela. “Angela is an amazing CASA. She is kind and caring and shoots straight with her youth. She has an uncanny ability to listen and meet the youth where they are at and support them in their journey. I have been so impressed with her being both a mentor and an advocate. Angela builds a trusting relationship, provides hands-on support, and most importantly shows her youth that she believes in them.” 

Angela is optimistic about the prospects for both girls. “I’m working with Megan to help her with her education and goals for the future. I’m trying to help her see what is out there beyond the tough neighborhood where she grew up. My next goal is to take her for a bike ride on the beach and go for a hike.”

She’s equally optimistic about the future prospects for Lynette. “I will see her graduate and go to college. She is getting straight As and wants to go to Stanford or UCLA. She will break the cycle of poverty and lack of education in her family.”  

Angela says, “I would encourage anyone who is considering becoming a CASA to do it. Almost 300 kids are on the waiting list in Orange County who don’t have anyone. High school graduation rates increase from just over 50% to over 90% with the presence of a CASA. That’s how we change lives and change our world. We are in a big hurt right now and these kids are our future.”

To learn more about how you can become a CASA, click here to learn about upcoming Information Sessions. 

*Names changed to protect privacy