In honor of Black History Month, Child Advocates is spotlighting CASA Debra Law for her commitment to LIFTING UP our foster youth.
CASA Volunteer: Debra Law (phonetics), she/her/hers
Years of Service with Child Advocates of Silicon Valley: 3 years
Number of Children Served: 1
Showing Up—Providing Consistency in Times of Change
As a nurse and professor of nursing at San José State University, Debra has spent her entire career helping people and stewarding young minds. When Child Advocates CEO Frederick Ferrer visited her church to speak about CASA mentorship and the lives of foster youth, his message struck a chord: Foster youth need someone willing to SHOW UP for them.
“I can be consistent. I can SHOW UP. I’m not required to have expertise in the area of mental health, but I sure can send a text every week. I know how to do McDonald’s and just hang out. And so that’s what made me go, I can do this.”
Now, Debra is providing the consistency that her foster youth so desperately needs during a new period of transition. While her youth has been in and out of placements for the better part of a year, Debra has remained his ardent advocate, sending those regular texts, taking him out to dinner for his favorite meals—chicken fettuccine or a 10-piece nugget—and acting as his educational rights holder, ultimately helping him to navigate and process his frustrations with the foster care system.
“As a CASA, I’m in a unique position as part of his team because I’m not one of them. I’m not part of the system.”
Learning and Growing Together
Debra was first introduced to her child, Carl*, at the age of 14, and it was evident from the beginning that he was struggling. Just one year into their relationship, he was faced with the tragic passing of his mother, compounding his mental health struggles. Now 17, he still struggles with social anxiety, trauma-related learning difficulties and unhealthy coping mechanisms.
Because of these struggles, their relationship doesn’t always look exactly like that of other CASAs, but Debra is determined to meet him where he is and she embraces the lessons she is learning along the way.
In moments where Carl struggles to become regulated, Debra relies on the support of her Child Advocates supervisor. “When he has a trauma response, it’s not always obvious to the untrained eye. So my supervisor is really helpful with that.”
Through everything, Debra is working to make sure her youth understands what it means to be unconditionally loved, reminding him, “There’s nothing you’re going to do that will cause me to stop being here for you.”
And that is the heart of her advice for anyone thinking about becoming a CASA volunteer. “Be willing to give unconditional love, recognizing that by unconditional you may or may not get anything back. You have to have realistic expectations and understand that support can look very different depending on the individual. You build a rapport, and through that rapport, you are able to model for someone who maybe hasn’t seen what healthy behaviors look like.”
* An alias was used to protect the privacy of the child.
FUN FACTS:
TV Show Recommendation(s): Abbott Elementary
Favorite Movie: The Color Purple
Currently Reading: Atomic Habits
Favorite Music Artist: Nancy Wilson
Favorite Food: Cupcakes
Favorite Place: The beach
Favorite Hobbies: Calligraphy and caring for plants (For other plant enthusiasts, she recommends her favorite shop: Plant Lush)
Support Foster Youth Today
Here are just a few of the ways you can SHOW UP for foster youth this month:
- Take the first step to advocating for foster youth. Attend an informational session to learn more about becoming a CASA Volunteer.
- Support our CASA Program and invest in our foster youth with a financial contribution. You can also check with your company to see if they match employee donations.
- Become a Corporate Champion by sponsoring an activity or one of our fundraising events. Email us at development@childadvocatessv.org to learn how your company can be a part of the solution for foster kids.
- Follow us on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.