CASA Volunteer of the Month has been source of consistency for one child for more than six years

CASA Volunteer of the Month Martha Thompson

When Martha Thompson first met the child she had been assigned to advocate for, all his belongings fit in a trash bag.

For more than six years, Thompson has served as the boy’s Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer. He moved through more than half a dozen different placements, but Thompson was a constant amid the chaos.

This month, Thompson is being honored as a CASA Volunteer of the Month for her dedication to helping abused and neglected children.

“Martha has been the epitome of what CASA is designed to be: the one constant in her child’s life while everything else was changing and unreliable,” said Dennis Stutsman, Thompson’s CASA Volunteer Manager. “Martha will remain a resource to him for a long time to come, steering him toward thoughtful and safe decisions regarding his future.”

Thompson is not a professional social worker or therapist; she is retired from UK and lives on her family farm, raising beef cattle and hay. But after she learned about CASA from a friend, then read a newspaper article about the program, she realized she could become a volunteer.

“You really can make a difference in the life of a foster child,” she said. “Besides your relationship with the child, you will keep the judge informed on what is really going on, so the best legal decisions can be made for the child’s life.”

CASA volunteers give 5-10 hours a month of their time to visit with a child who has suffered abuse or neglect and has an open case in the local family court system. They also advocate for the child’s needs in court, helping ensure they receive appropriate educational and medical attention and working to obtain permanency as quickly as safely possible.

Thompson said over the years, she helped her CASA child obtain bicycles, Christmas presents and school supplies, so that he could have some sense of normalcy in his life.

“I hope the most important thing I did was to be present with him,” she said. “Through everything, I was his ever-present adult. He knows I care about what happens to him.”