How One CASA Advocate Made a Real Difference

I Am the Reason You Should Never Give Up on a Child

Thank you to Jackie Davis, former foster youth and current college student at the University of North Texas, for sharing his story with us at the 2014 National CASA Conference and in this guest blog post. 

My CASA volunteer was a warrior who decided to fight alongside me, all for the sake of providing me a hopeful future.

I’d like to share with you a little of how CASA’s powerful commitment to children has influenced my life.

At the tender age of two my parents’ rights were terminated due to neglect and drug abuse. I, along with four of my siblings, were removed from our home, separated, and placed in foster homes. My siblings were adopted, and I rotated through six homes before being adopted at five years old. After about a year, the adoption broke down due to abuse and the family’s refusal to continue caring and providing for me. I was placed back into foster care, and there I suffered at the hands of neglectful and abusive foster parents. In care, I resided with families that beat me violently, made me sleep in bathtubs, locked me in closets for punishment, and abused me in other malicious ways.

More here.