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Give Back NH: CASA of New Hampshire

CASA of New Hampshire aims to provide a voice to abused and neglected children and youth through recruiting and training court-appointed special advocates. On this week's Give Back NH feature, we hear from CASA staff and volunteers.

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Transcript

Allison Riley: I'm Allison Riley and I serve as a program manager for CASA of New Hampshire out of the Keene and Claremont offices.

CASA of New Hampshire is a statewide nonprofit that recruits, trains and supervises volunteers who advocate on behalf of the best interests of our state's abused and neglected children.

Pete King: I'm a CASA volunteer for about six years. I wanted to find something really meaningful to do, and I looked into a lot of different programs and CASA, it just it seemed to be the right fit for me.

I started this about six years ago when the opioid epidemic was occurring, and I just kept seeing so many stories about young parents and their children who were affected by it, and I wanted to do something to make a change in it.

Kristin Faxon: My name is Kristin Faxon and I am a CASA (court appointed special advocate). I'm a young working professional born and raised in New Hampshire. I really just wanted to find a way to get involved.

Kristin: Initially, I was looking at the foster care system becoming a foster care parent, but it was more than I could commit to. So I just started Googling and came across CASA of New Hampshire felt like it was a great fit for me and that it was a way that I could help in the way that would be meaningful, I believe, for the community.

Pete: The listening sessions are the best way to get to know what CASA is all about, and that's where I encourage people to take the next step, which is to look at the application and participate in some of the online chats that we have.

Allison: We're very much in need of volunteers in the Monadnock Region. We have a Monadnock Region-focused info session coming up on Wednesday, January 26th at 5:30 p.m. There are also several information sessions in February that are available on our website. If you can join us and you're listening from the Monadnock Region and you can join us next Wednesday, the 26th, we'd be glad to have you.

Really, what we're looking for is just folks that have an interest in making a difference in their community and for helping children.
Allison Riley, CASA Program Manager, Claremont & Keene

Pete: I've had over a dozen cases that have closed and every single child is in so much better place than they were when the case started, and it makes me happy to be able to reflect on that.

Kristin: Just the work itself is just something that I don't think that you can find or recreate in other opportunities that I've been a part of in the past.

Alison: You can also reach out to us at (603) 626-4600. We have someone that would answer the phone at all times during the workday, 8am-4pm to also direct you to someone to get your questions answered.
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CASA of New Hampshire is also a NHPR underwriter.

Karen joined NHPR as its Operations Manager in 2021. Karen most recently worked as Program Director of KNOM Radio Mission, a community radio station based in Nome, Alaska. Previously, she has also worked as a program assistant, deejay and radio producer. During her time at KNOM, she won the Alaska Broadcaster’s Association award for the best COVID-19 response, as well as awards from the Alaska Press Club for feature and arts reporting.
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