The Berrien Community Foundation announced $269,000 in grants to non-profits throughout Southwest Michigan at its 72nd Annual Meeting and Celebration this month, and among the largest awards was $75,000 for Court Appointed Special Advocates of Southwest Michigan, Incorporated, or CASA.

CASA Director Kate Rendell tells us the organization was founded in 2016 to give extra support and advocacy to children caught up in the foster system.

“All of the children that we serve came into care because they were removed from their home due to abuse, neglect, or another adversity that made foster care especially difficult for them,” Rendell said. “Some of them need extra support, extra set of eyes on their case.”

Rendell says CASA’s advocates are volunteers who come from all walks of life. Some are counselors, and all are just people who want to help. The BCF grant will enable CASA to provide training to its volunteers to cope with stress and burnout.

“So we’ll be holding regular training sessions to train staff, consult with them on particularly hard cases, and to give us the tools to support our volunteers who are in turn supporting the children that we serve.”

Rendell says because of the serious topics the advocates encounter, it can be tough on them to see a case all the way through.

The children being protected by CASA often need counseling, but CASA also helps them stay with siblings and get extra help in school.

Rendell says the Berrien Community Foundation has been a critical partner of CASA since it was founded, and the organization welcomes the training support.