"Despite his struggles with his family and his learning disabilities, he has remained kind and loving." - Pam, CASA Volunteer

WRITTEN BY:

PAM

I’ve had the privilege of being a CASA to Jorge, from the time he was 13-years-old until just before his 18th birthday when his case closed. A lot of changes happened to him during that period of time. Despite his struggles with his family and his learning disabilities, he has remained kind and loving. He is loyal and sensitive to the needs of others. When I first became his CASA, he was embarrassed when I told him I wanted to be his friend (I’m 71 years old and he told me he never had a friend as old as me). Over time though, he began to see me as a trusted friend and we both looked forward to our visits. We laughed, he drew pictures and I was his “scribe” when he wrote poems about people he loved or liked. Because of his learning disability, his reading and writing abilities were far below standard for his age. However, this sure didn’t keep him from expressing poetic loving words about his family and friends. In fact, one of his poems was submitted to the Orangewood Foundation for an award.

He is forgiving and wants to help others. He’s patient with and wants to help others, especially his extended family members. He’s always ready to provide moral support for family or friends who might be feeling low. His greatest desire is for his extended family to someday live together in harmony.

I’ve learned a lot from Jorge. Through him I learned that success doesn’t look the same for everyone. He may not “succeed” as far as school curriculum, but he has remained loyal, patient and loving to his extended family. Also, despite his early reluctance to think of me as his friend, he still calls me every few weeks to ask how I’m doing and we have great talks. I still take him his favorite meal, spaghetti and meatballs, or art supplies to him occasionally.