CASA and LHUCA Help Raise Awareness of Kids in Foster Care [Audio]

Wednesday on Lubbock's First News, Melissa Pierce, Special Events and Marketing Coordinator of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), talked about what happens when kids outgrow the foster care system.

May is National Foster Care Awareness Month. To take part, the LHUCA Firehouse Theater will show a free screening of From Place to Place, a documentary about growing up in the foster care system. After the film, the audience will have a chance to meet with local young adults who aged out of the system. The film will be shown Saturday, May 10, at 7 p.m.

Pierce said, "We are going to visit with people about CASA and what we do and let them know that we are advocates and not foster care and what they can do to be a part of the training that starts on May 22nd." CASA is an organization that assigns trained volunteers to represent foster care children in court. Often, children may not be capable of representing themselves or may need help communicating their needs and wants. These volunteers can also help these kids make the transition out of the system and take advantage of the free college tuition offered by the state. However, only 2% of kids currently take advantage of this opportunity.

Get more information online from casaofthesouthplains.org or contact Melissa Pierce at (806)763-2272 or mpierce@lubbockcasa.org.

Listen to the full interview: