Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Domestic Violence Prevention topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
CASA outlines shelter and prevention services; youth volunteer describes impact of programming
Summary
CASA presented its shelter, hotline and prevention services to the board, reported serving nearly 7,200 survivors and children last fiscal year, and described prevention education in six district schools. A Lecanto High School junior who volunteers with CASA described his personal experience and outreach to children affected by domestic violence.
Rain Herczyk, CEO of Citrus County CASA, presented the nonprofit’s shelter, hotline and prevention programs and asked the board to support prevention education in schools. Herczyk described the agency’s 24‑hour hotline, emergency safe home and outreach, and said the organization partnered with multiple community agencies to deliver prevention programming and supports.
Herczyk told the board that, in the most recent fiscal year covered in the presentation, CASA served nearly 7,200 survivors and their children through its combined outreach, shelter and prevention programming. She also cited a figure of roughly 500 reported domestic‑violence incidents from the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office and described the agency’s role in court accompaniment, community education, and prevention work in schools.
As part of the presentation the board heard from a student volunteer, identified in the transcript as JJ, a junior at Lecanto High School. JJ described his childhood exposure to domestic violence, his path to volunteer work with CASA and the youth group’s goal of reducing intergenerational cycles of violence. JJ said he and other student volunteers meet weekly with children in CASA’s programs to play, tutor and provide peer connection; he framed the work as an effort to “let kids be kids” and to reduce the risk that children who witness domestic violence will become offenders later in life.
Board members thanked CASA for its community partnerships (including with law enforcement, the State Attorney’s Office and school district partners) and for the prevention advocate who currently works in six district schools. CASA requested continued partnership with the district on prevention programming and awareness training for school staff who may identify children affected by domestic violence.
Why it matters CASA’s shelter and prevention services provide immediate safety and long‑term education and supports for survivors and children. Prevention programs in schools aim to identify at‑risk youth, provide early interventions and reduce future harm.
