CASA raises funds, public awareness

Every little bit helps when it comes to the welfare of the children of Sanders County and last week the Court Appointed Special Advocates - known to most simply as CASA - collected $1,604.85 from its annual Chili Feed at St. James Catholic Church.

Nearly 40 people showed up for the event in the church's basement Thursday evening to take in mild and spicy chili, homemade cornbread, and homemade pies and brownies, and to get an update on CASA's mission to help children who had been removed from their homes because of abuse or neglect.

Last year, CASA in Sanders County served 62 children from infants to 17 years old, filed 80 court reports, and its five advocates logged 1,257 hours in the course of helping children whose parent or parents were involved in some sort of court action, said Colleen McCarthy, who has served as the board secretary for more than four years and was sworn in Feb. 7 as the newest Sanders County advocate.

CASA is a nonprofit organization with volunteers who advocate in court for the best interests of children that are involved in neglect or abuse cases. CASA doesn't take children away from their homes, but works with children, the biological parents, foster parents, child protective services, schools, and anyone that plays a role in the children's lives. Each advocate is a bonafide court official that must complete a minimum of 30 hours of training. The advocates investigate on behalf of a child or children and report their findings to a judge.

"Our judges are very supportive of CASA. They always refer to the CASA advocates as their eyes and ears," said McCarthy. "They rely very heavily on the advice from the CASA advocates," she added.

CASA in Sanders County began in 2014 by the late Betty Boehler and former Plains resident Polly Cavill, who had been the county's first advocate. Sanders County partners with CASA in Lake County, which began in 2005 and is headed by Ann Marie McNeil, the executive director. CASA in both counties falls under the jurisdiction of the 20th Judicial District in Polson. The present advocates in Sanders County are comprised of McCarthy, Carol Searle of Thompson Falls, Suzanne Martin of Plains, John Marshall of Hot Springs, and Linda Wilson of Plains. McCarthy recognized Wilson for being with CASA for eight years.

"It's a pretty high burnout to do this, so for her to do this for so long is a testament to her kindness and generosity," said McCarthy, who said they started a new program in Sanders County last year called "Youth Connection," which offers supervised visits between children and parents, and sometimes children and grandparents. The new program also includes parenting classes. McCarthy and Searle are the only two certified parenting coaches in Sanders County.

"We're trying to mirror how Child Protective Services does their business by trying to intervene before the safety of the children is at risk," said McCarthy, who added that it's such a new program that they've had only three child/parent sessions in Sanders County, so far, although there have been several in Lake County. "With this, we're trying to prevent bad things from happening to the children and our focus is supporting families in crisis and the welfare of the child. We're really excited about this," said McCarthy.

Last week was CASA's first fundraiser of the year and the eighth annual Chili Feed, though it hasn't been held for the last two years because of Covid. An ice cream social is planned at the fairgrounds sometime in early August. McCarthy said the money they raised last week was "awesome," but they also rely heavily on donations and federal, state and private grants to operate. They also receive money from the Montana Supreme Court. According to Treasurer Kathy Gregg, the local CASA received $172,460 in grants last year. The money raised goes to pay for training for the advocates and to help pay for their travel expenses, though McCarthy said most of the time their advocates donate their mileage reimbursements back to the organization.

"I felt that the fundraiser went very well," said Steve Seilhymer, the board president for the last six years. Seilhymer, a former Plains resident, traveled from Bigfork to attend the event. He said it was good to see people turn out for the event despite the cold weather. "Everyone seemed to be having a good time and we had very little food left over," said Seilhymer, who made two large pans of cornbread for the event.

Leonard Larson of Plains cooked the 10 pounds of chili, which he spent most of the afternoon making. Larson has provided the main dish every year. The First Lutheran Church in Plains paid for the ingredients for the dinner and the Catholic church donated the space once again. Plains resident Doris Haines sewed more than a dozen potholders for the drawings. Twelve-year-old Elisabeth Weedeman was picked to pull the winning names out, but she turned a slight red when the first one was her father, Clint, who took home a handful of Haines' potholders and a $25 gift certificate for the Bean Bug in Plains. The second drawing raised a big laugh when she pulled out her mother's name for potholders and a $50 gift certificate for Studs Building & Home in Plains, although Monica said to pull another name. The winner was then Alana Johnson of Plains. The third drawing name for potholders and a $75 massage by Jill Hermes was Bill Haines, Doris' husband, who also refused, and Kelly VonHeeder's name was then selected. The 50/50 drawing winner of $130 was Lori Rehbein, but she donated the money back to CASA. The chili dinner was free, but donations were accepted and ranged from a few dollars to hundreds.

The fundraiser, however, wasn't just about raising money, said Seilhymer. "The public relations aspect of these types of events is essential for CASA. I feel it is important to make the public aware of our mission to support abused and neglected children in Sanders County," he said. "We're important to Sanders County for a couple of reasons. First, we advocate for children that have been removed from the home because of abuse or neglect. These children are the most vulnerable citizens in the county," said Seilhymer. He also noted that the organization provides services, such as supervised visitations and parenting classes, which he believes help build a healthy family environment for children at risk. "When we can get the message out about how we support the community, I believe the community will in turn support our mission," he said.

McCarthy was pleased that people turned out for the annual Chili Feed and was happy with the generosity of the local residents. "It's a very worthy cause and it's helping the most vulnerable members of our community. There's an attorney for the dad or mom, but there was nothing for the children. Now there is," she said.