CASA of the area urges volunteers, lays out programs and holiday drive

Tomy Edwards, a representative of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), told the DeRidder City Council on March 10 that CASA recruits and trains community volunteers to advocate for children in foster care and aims to ensure each child has a consistent advocate while in care. "We recruit and train community volunteers to advocate for the children," Edwards said.

Edwards said CASA serves two parishes and sometimes children from Fort Johnson, and provided recent caseload figures: "Right now there's roughly 100 children between the two parishes," and, he said, "in 2024 we advocated for 68 kids with 45 volunteers." He said recruitment has been difficult since the COVID-19 pandemic but that a new training class is underway and seven people are already lined up for the next session.

Edwards described program activities and fundraising: CASA runs an annual Christmas project — "we did about 100 plus kids last year" — and observes Child Abuse Prevention Month with 'pinwheel' displays across local sites. He also promoted the fourth annual CASA Color Run, set for the 22nd, and said funds help pay for items DCFS does not cover, such as computers, beds and dressers.

Edwards closed with contact details for residents who want to volunteer or seek more information: CASA's office is at 420 McMan Street in Hope Village and the listed phone number is 337-462-4667. He thanked the city and parish for ongoing support.

The council did not take formal action on the presentation; the remarks were delivered during the visitor/public comment portion of the meeting.