Raising Awareness for Vulnerable Children
CASA Case: Sam and Christopher’s Story
Sam and Christopher*, two young brothers, were born into a tumultuous home life marked by domestic violence. Over time, their mother realized that although the violence was against her, not the children, it was still hurting them. She recognized that it was her responsibility to protect the boys. She left the abusive relationship and filed…
DVAM: 4 Ways to Support a Child Victim
Domestic violence creates an unsafe, unhealthy, and frightening environment for children. The violence may or may not be directed at the children. But the children are victims, all the same. Witnessing intimate partner violence is traumatic. Children may be witnessing it with their own eyes, but they may also hear or sense violence that is…
DVAM: What Is Trauma Bonding?
Studies show that domestic violence increased during the COVID pandemic. While data proved this, it also makes sense on a fundamental level. Isolation is an abuser’s greatest tool. And isolation was how the entire world coped with the pandemic. Victims were stuck with abusers and their access to help was restricted. This is the shadow…
DVAM: 4 Tips for Safety Plans
The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) defines ‘domestic violence’ as “the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another. It includes physical violence, sexual violence, threats, and economic and emotional/psychological abuse.” If you know…
Advocates for Higher Education
An advocate is defined as one who pleads on someone else’s behalf. This appeal or petition for another can be in many forms. There are macro-level advocates, such as those who advocate for large scale reform, and micro-level advocates, such as those who speak up for individuals. Court Appointed Special Advocates primarily focus on the…
Back to School with CASA
With a new school year, the possibilities and opportunities are endless. Unfortunately, for some students, the challenges may also feel endless. That is why CASA volunteers encourage the children we serve to share their feelings about the new school year. We want to process the challenges together. Since educators are vital to a child’s development,…
Who Can Make a Difference?
Building new relationships can feel intimidating. This is especially true for children and teens who have experienced trauma. Youth hurt or abandoned by loved ones may be scared to trust again. Teens jaded by ongoing let-downs may expect the worse and not pursue new friendships. Children not given the opportunity to form healthy attachments to…
CASA’s Call to Action: Support Families
In August, the Richmond Times Dispatch published the editorial below, written as a call to action for our community as children start returning to school this fall. Together, we can serve families, support our schools, and stop child abuse. Across our community, parents and caregivers are struggling to balance the stress of daily life alongside…
CASA Library: Resilience Movie List
Not everyone loves to read… so we wanted to end our summer library recommendations with a video library. See a full list of movie recommendations from Greater Richmond SCAN‘s Resilience Week resources. One of the major benefits of watching a film is that you can actively watch it with others. As you watch, it’s an…
CASA Library: What Happened To You?
Our team at Henrico CASA loves to read… and so do our amazing volunteer advocates! Our volunteers read MANY books as part of their continuing education. They often take the time to tell us about their favorites and how they connect to our work as child advocates. Below is a “book report” from Richard Davis,…