VOLUNTEER ADVOCATES FOR CHILDREN WHO NEED A CHAMPION

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Lisa Farthing. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.

Lisa Farthing has worked in roles ranging from college career advisor to accountant. But it’s her volunteer work as a court-appointed special advocate that truly drives her.

A program that started back in 1988, Parachute CASA is a nonprofit agency dedicated to providing trained community volunteers to children who are in the juvenile court system due to abuse, neglect or abandonment. After undergoing an intensive training program, volunteers are appointed by a juvenile court judge to represent the best interests of an abused or neglected child in court. But in addition to attending court and writing reports for the judges and magistrates, Lisa’s work as a CASA takes her everywhere from classrooms to doctors’ offices, where she serves as an advocate for these vulnerable children who need someone to have their back.

A member of the inaugural training class of volunteers at Parachute CASA, Lisa has seen it all throughout her many years of dedicated service. While she took several years off to raise her own children, Lisa ultimately felt called back to her work as a CASA. Now thriving in retirement, Lisa is as dedicated as ever to advocating for the children she works with. While most cases require about 10 hours of volunteer work a month, Lisa puts in anywhere between 10 and 30 monthly hours as a CASA, all with the goal of helping each child find a safe, permanent home where they can thrive.

Now 70 years old, Lisa has no intention of stopping her incredible volunteer work as an advocate for vulnerable children in the court system. However, her time commitment may slow down for a bit, because she’s about to become a grandmother. Lisa’s wholehearted dedication to making a better life for children who need a trusted advocate shows just how powerful the role of a volunteer can be.

What inspires you to volunteer?

It’s heartwarming. It sounds crazy to say it this way, but it’s emotionally satisfying because you know you’re helping. I learn so much. It’s also very intellectually stimulating to understand how the court system and foster care work. Until you actually do this kind of work, you might only have a passing notion of how these things work. Ultimately, it’s helping the kids find a safe place.

Tell us about your volunteer role with Parachute CASA.

Every case is different, whether it’s abandonment, or there are drugs or sexual abuse involved. When we have new training classes, we ask people to commit to 10 hours a month. My increased time right now is largely because the kids I work with are in crisis. We visit them regularly, whether it’s in a foster home or a kinship care. We can go to the school or we can go to their doctor. I visit their teachers. In my current case, I take the boys to their therapy sessions because it’s my way of being their safe person. We play games or we draw–just doing kid stuff with them.

What inspired you to get started with this initiative?

A friend of mine was kind of drafted to be part of the first group of people trained for the program. She knew I loved kids and social justice, so I was in the very first training class in 1988. I did it for seven years while working full-time and having two children. That was a little much, so I took a break until 2013 when I officially retired and came back. I went through the training again, and the organization was well embedded in the way juvenile court works in our county. We always joke in the Parachute office that I’m the oldest volunteer–not by my age, but by my tenure. It’s 19 years I’ve been doing this, and it’s my way of helping the kids who don’t have a consistent adult watching their backs. I’m their safe person. I stay with them until they land either back with their biological family or in permanent custody, and they get adopted.

What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?

It’s so rewarding to know that I’ve made a difference in their lives. For instance, I worked on a permanent custody case where there were five kids with no dad and a mother with substance abuse problems. It did go to permanent custody, and the kids all landed. One went back to a biological family member, and the younger four were adopted by their foster parents, who were teachers, so they stayed together. They’re healthy and happy. They have a family now that watches out for them and takes care of them. To me, it’s that good ending that I get the most joy from.

What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?

One of the things that they talk about in training is whether you can articulate what your values are. My value system is being able to set aside what my value system is. You’re going to go into dirty houses, or you’re going to see parenting styles that don’t match with your parenting styles. And I think that I am more patient now. I’m able to see other people’s perspectives. In some of the cases, those who are parenting young kids didn’t have healthy parenting role models of their own. Sometimes just being a resource to the parents involved has been very rewarding too. I’ve helped try to get them to rehab or helping them with housing resources. I think I’ve learned that sometimes you’ve just got to go with it.

Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?

You get more than you give. That’s not the right way to convince somebody that you want them to do this work, because you have to go into this knowing that you’re going to see and hear disturbing things. But if you can navigate your way through that, you realize what impact you can have. Of all the cases that go through our Butler County Juvenile Court, we are staffed in a very small number of them. We don’t have that many volunteers. I try and encourage my friends to just go to that first session. You’re not making any commitment. Check it out and see whether it’s something that you can picture yourself doing.

Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?

Do your research. Talk to people within the organization. It doesn’t ever hurt to make a phone call to ask what it entails. Maybe some people are worried that they can’t make a lasting commitment. You just have to try it. Some people do it for a while and then take a break. You’re not obligated to stay for any length of time. You can stop doing it. But the people who do it tend to have some longevity because they get so much from it.

What do you want people to learn from your story?

I want people to consider doing this work. It’s so good for the kids. It’s so good for you as an individual. Do your research and try it on for size.

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Lisa? Find local volunteer opportunities.