Brittany Taylor
When I was 10 years old, I had a CASA volunteer here in Lane County. I can remember the day like it was yesterday. I was sitting in my aunt’s kitchen as my mom hung up the phone with Child Protective Services. My stomach dropped as she told me that accusations of physical abuse were not enough to remove my brother and me from my dad’s home. My mom asked if there was anything else she should know about living with my father for the past seven years. I knew this was my opportunity to tell the secret I had held inside for so many years. With my head hung low, in a soft, quiet voice, I said to her, “Daddy touches me.” Click here to read the rest of Brittany’s story
Noah and Nicholas
Noah and Nicholas were born drug-affected and threatened by domestic violence. Still just babies, they were placed into foster care. Brenda was appointed to be Noah and Nicholas’ volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocate.
Against all odds, Brenda saw hope for the boys’ future with their father, Travis. She recalls, “I knew that if Travis just had a chance to better himself and become the parent he never had, he would be successful.” But Travis refused to engage in services for anger management, domestic violence, and drug addiction.
Travis says, “I remember Brenda sat me down and said, ‘Travis, you can do this the right way or you can do this the wrong way, and it’s your choice.’ I remember thinking to myself, ‘What choice are you going to make here, Travis?’ ” Click here to read the rest of Noah and Nicholas’ story
Pamela Butler
“We moved a lot and we weren’t in school a lot,” 19-year-old Pamela Butler, a former foster child, says of an early childhood spent moving from the family car to homeless shelters to motels. Her life with her mother was pretty bleak: “I entered my mother’s apartment and went straight to my room. There was a bed with no blankets, a closet overflowing with trash and a dresser against one wall. The carpet was littered with cigarette ashes, and the entire apartment reeked of smoke, waste and mildew. I lay down on the mattress and cried.” Click here to read the rest of Pamela’s story
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