"She...wanted me to know that I was the only consistent thing in her life, and for that, she was grateful." - Pat, CASA Volunteer

WRITTEN BY:

PAT

When I first met Kenzie, she was 12-years-old living in a group home with five other females.  She and her four other siblings came into Orang County's foster care system when her mother and father divorced. Her mother suffered from mental illness and was unable to care for her children. Kenzie was mad at the world because she and her siblings were not living together like a normal family. Over the six years that I was Kenzie's CASA, she moved into several group homes as her temper proved to be her biggest problem. I tried to help her see that working with a therapist would help her cope with some of the pent-up anger she dealt with daily. Kenzie informed me that with every move she got a new therapist; therefore, she had to start her story over and never got the consistent help she needed. That is a similar problem for most kids in foster care as staff, social workers, and therapists frequently change when the kids are moved around.  

Once you got to know Kenzie, you found a special caring young lady who was smart, articulate, and who could take on a whole debate team without breaking a sweat. When she applied herself in school, her grades reflected her work. Kenzie has a wonderful sense of humor and we spent a lot of time laughing over the silliest things on our outings. When Kenzie approached her 17th birthday, she learned that her siblings were about to be adopted by their foster mother. She was against it and made her feelings known because she wanted to adopt them herself when she turned 18 and emancipated. Kenzie's goal was dashed. On Kenzie's 18th birthday I attended court with her and as soon as we left the courthouse, she had me return her to her group home.  She had packed her bags the night before and walked out of the group home without saying goodbye to anyone including me. That was how her case ended for me.

One day, several years later, my phone rang, and I was so happy I was sitting down! It was Kenzie! She began apologizing for the way she left and wanted me to know that I was the only consistent thing in her life, and for that, she was grateful. We both spent some time catching up on one another and crying. We made plans to meet for dinner the following day. We keep in touch via phone. Kenzie is doing well, living with her boyfriend, and she has reconnected with her siblings. She is helping them when she can. She shared with me that she has a therapist and is getting help with her family issues. Kenzie did reach out to her parents, but that is still a work in progress. She calls me on Mother's Day, and we exchange calls on our birthdays, and at Christmas, too.