When the Court Appointed Special Advocates first encountered Sally and her children, she was in a bad place. She had an open Department of Child Services investigation, was unemployed and had just given birth to her second child- of whom she unfortunately lost custody. She had a criminal record and a long history of drug abuse, but when she found CASA, she found a way out of the dark. Over the course of a year, Sally maintained her sobriety, got a job, obtained custody of her new baby and was granted unsupervised visitation with her 12 year old son. She worked with her CASA agent to attend counseling and aftercare treatment, and her child’s principal reported a huge, positive change in her son once he was in a stable environment with his mother. None of this seemed achievable in the previous year, but with the consistency and support of a CASA volunteer, this family group achieved the unachievable.
United Way of Greater Knoxville is proud to partner with the Court Appointed Special Advocates and work towards finding safe, stable, and happy homes for the children of Knoxville. CASA works diligently to represent the child’s best interests in every situation, and we are proud to help them make our community a better place for the children living in it. Change doesn’t happen alone. To live better, we must LIVE UNITED.