On April 12, 2018 eight members of the Ramos Law team joined 200+ advocates for the CASA Champions for Children Breakfast to help raise awareness and money for youth who much of society has cast aside as “not worth the effort.” In many dependency and neglect cases, children enter the CASA program after having been abused, neglected, or abandoned by their parents or others who were supposed to protect them. As part of the process of helping these children find people they can look to as stabilizing factors in their lives, the court can assign a Court Appointed Special Advocate…a CASA.
CASA serves hundreds of children each year through a wide variety of programs, including transporting children to and from supervised visits and mentoring opportunities. One of Ramos Law’s attorneys, Russell Araya, was so moved by the mission of CASA that he applied for and was named to the Board of Directors for the organization. According to Russ, “For me, there is nothing more rewarding than seeing a child laugh and smile. Sometimes children get caught up in an adult world over which they have no control. Along the way, they may be exposed to indignities – an unkind word, a scornful look, or physical violence – each of which can affect the trajectory of that child’s future. CASA plays a pivotal role in the children it represents by continuously reminding them they are important people worthy of love and respect. Just because a child got a rough start in life doesn’t mean they don’t need and deserve someone to watch out for their best interests when they can’t necessarily do that for themselves. As a father, my goal is to remind my little girls how smart, worthy, and capable they are. For those children who don’t have such support, CASA steps in. I can’t imagine the fear, confusion, and pain these kids go through by not having the stability of someone who truly cares for them. I appreciate CASA and am privileged to support its mission.”