06/17/2026
Sharing from a CASA advocate’s perspective!
This is what 16 placements in 2½ years looks like.
As CASA volunteers, we are often reminded that it is not our role to transport or manage a child’s belongings.
Yet today, standing in front of this pile, I couldn’t help but step in and help. Not because it was my responsibility, but because sometimes the human side of this work outweighs the boundaries of our roles.
I have worked with this youth for nearly their entire time in care. Looking at this collection of totes, garbage bags, backpacks, and personal items was overwhelming. Every bag represents another move, another goodbye, another attempt to start over. What should be a bedroom filled with treasured possessions has become a portable life packed into containers.
I also want to acknowledge the caseworkers. Many are carrying caseloads that would challenge anyone. They are constantly coordinating placements, transportation, services, court hearings, and crises. The system asks an incredible amount of them every day.
Still, moments like this are a powerful reminder of what placement instability looks like in real life. We often talk about the number of placements in reports, meetings, and court hearings, but numbers do not capture the reality. This picture does.
For those who are new to CASA work, never lose sight of the fact that every move requires a child to pack up their entire world. The emotional weight of that is far heavier than these bags appear.
Today I helped carry belongings. What I was really carrying was the visible evidence of a childhood spent moving from place to place, searching for stability.
That reality will stay with me for a long time. 💙
