Jeff Roedersheimer is a man of many interests. He loves technology and data, he plays golf, does yoga, competes in Spartan Races, paddle boards, and confesses to being a Bengals fan stranded in Southern California. He also gardens, cooks, bakes, and enjoys creating craft cocktails. On a recent morning he is fielding Zoom calls while candying a kumquat-tangerine hybrid for old-fashioned cocktails.
For the past few years Jeff has also volunteered as an advocate and, more recently, as a CASA OC board member. Jeff initially decided to become a CASA volunteer during the Covid pandemic. He says, “It was a rough time and I realized I needed to give back more - I always had a desire to serve and would donate money, but not much time. I heard that things were getting worse for kids in bad situations during Covid since teachers are the biggest reporters of child abuse and neglect, so I felt even more of a call to become a CASA for that reason.”
During training Jeff says he learned a lot about being a CASA, but he also learned about things he didn’t anticipate. He says, “Boy do the heartstrings get pulled, if you are one foot in when you begin training, how do you not jump all the way in when you learn, not just what these kids have gone through, but what possible impact you can have?” He adds, “We learned not every impact will be really big and noticeable like in a novel, and the impact may not be evident until you’re no longer in the relationship. You have to do it with your whole heart and know that there’s going to be good outcomes for your youth even if it's not overtly evident.”
Jeff admits to being a little nervous when he met with his first CASA youth who was living with relatives at the time. However the two quickly bonded and Jeff says he was soon invited to all their big family events. “Our relationship exposed me to a whole different world than I typically see. I realized there are a lot of things I take for granted. It’s eye opening how other families live and how different their life experiences can be, and that’s OK.”
After Jeff’s first youth aged out of the system, Jeff was matched with *Randall who was 13 at the time. He says, “In the three years I’ve been with Randall, we’ve been through the gamut together. Throughout different placements, schools, social workers and probation officers, I’ve been the only one to consistently show up for him.”
During a short placement at an emergency shelter, Randall was pulled into a gang and got into trouble. It was his first offense but according to Jeff, “He’d never been in trouble before, but got swept up with a group who all received stiff sentences. He spent several months in juvenile hall and when he got out, his stable living situation had fallen apart and he couldn’t return there. He was lucky to get into a group home because these kids are returned to juvenile hall if they can’t find a placement. Other than his social worker, I was the only one to visit him while he was in juvenile hall.”
Jeff says, “I like to say, ‘You are the five people you hang around with’ and Randall was hanging around with the wrong people for a while. But he’s really turned it around and has put in the time and effort to move onto independent living.” Jeff says his CASA training helped him navigate this difficult time, “I learned you can sympathize and empathize with someone who's been in a really bad situation. Their circumstances may have led them down a path to commit a criminal act that any of us could have faced if we were in the same situation. And you can feel badly for their situation but, you can still hold them accountable”
Jeff proudly shares, “Randall is now living in an apartment with two other guys. He has a girlfriend and has left the gang life behind. He’s going to school and recently received a note of recognition from his school. He even got Straight A’s last quarter!” Jeff’s advocacy helped Randall agree to meet with a good therapist to help him address the trauma he’s experienced throughout his life. Jeff says, “He’s been climbing out of a hole, and it’s been a long road to get where he is now.”
Jeff recently joined the CASA OC Board of Directors where he brings a wealth of experience as a data and technology expert. He’s very enthusiastic about the potential for CASA to gather and crunch data to better serve more youth and improve their outcomes. He says, “Look at how social media companies, financial institutions and sports teams use data to ensure they’re building the best team or turning the biggest profit. Why aren’t non-profits leveraging data/tech to do all of that? We don’t have to worry about turning a profit, we just have children to help survive, to inspire and get them to thrive. So how can we use technology for our mission? How can we use data to become more effective in serving kids? How can we use this information to learn what works and what may not be so effective?
To launch this effort, Jeff created CASA OC’s inaugural survey to evaluate outcomes for CASA youth who have emancipated or aged-out of the system after experiencing the mentorship and advocacy of a CASA volunteer. Jeff is animated as he describes the possibilities of investing in and harvesting the data that can help CASA improve outcomes, get more funding, and learn better ways to serve youth.
Jeff goes back to his mantra, “You are the five people you hang out with and the more good, stable adults we can put around these kids, the better chance they have. They see a different path, a different way to behave, a different way to treat people, and that’s who they become. We’re human, we’re adaptable, but if we don’t have those good influences around us, we will succumb to that.”
If you’d like to learn more about becoming a CASA, please email Norma Mendoza or sign up to attend an upcoming Information Session.
*Name changed to protect privacy