L-R Front row: James Van Cleave, Jerry Beaugez, Jasmine Snodgrass, Myron Labat, Sr., Sue Layel, Lindsey Richard, Pam Martin, Samantha Johnson, and Sandy Hawkins.

CASA of Hancock County celebrated the induction of 9 new volunteers on June 12th at the Leo Seals Center in Waveland. Youth Court Judge Elise Deano swore in the volunteers after applauding their decision to go through the necessary screening and training to become Court Appointed Special Advocates.

The group was administered an oath of service in front of their family members, several current CASA volunteers, program staff members and the entire Board of Directors. “The work that you all will do on behalf of these innocent children will affect the lives of this generations and of generations to come”, states Cynthia Chauvin, Executive Director. A special thank you to West End Restaurant in Waveland and Rhonda Gamble who provided dinner for our new volunteers and their guests.

Currently, there are over 430 children in foster care in Hancock County. CASA of Hancock County is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that utilizes trained community members to advocate for children who through no fault of their own are involved in the complex and overburdened child welfare and youth court systems. Often there is not one consistent adult who is a voice in the child’s life. A CASA volunteer provides individualized one-on-one advocacy and works with all agencies and parties involved to gather information and to provide an independent report for the Court with recommendations based solely upon the child’s best interest.

With the addition of these 9 new CASA volunteers, the program will be able to serve an additional 10-15 children who are involved in the Youth Court and DHS systems.