ASA for Children of Northeast Texas has an energetic and dedicated leader in Executive Director Brandy Eldridge who started the position June 1.
Eldridge, a former educator and administrator, said the new position provides her a new avenue to help children.
"I was an educator for 17 years. Education is not something people get into for the money. It's a calling to really take care of children. CASA and the Children's Advocacy Center do just that by bringing hope into traumatic situations. Our mission is to bring hope, healing and justice to children that have been abused or neglected," Eldridge said.
"Often as educators we were the ones who reported abuse and neglect and here we're the ones on the other end of the phone. It's a really good transition," Eldridge said.
CASA for Children of Northeast Texas is the umbrella agency for the Children's Advocacy Center. CASA provides volunteers to speak on behalf of children while they go through custody cases in the court system, while the CAC provides forensic interviews and exams for abused children.
The two programs are flip sides of a coin that work together to make sure children are cared for and end up in the best possible situations available.
"On the CASA side our biggest challenge is getting volunteers to staff these cases because we're not serving 100 percent of kids in these cases," Eldridge said. "On the Children's Advocacy Center side, we need to educate people and make them aware that we're here. It's difficult to let people know there's child abuse and neglect here in Texarkana and the eight counties we serve so it's important to let people know we're here, what we do and that it's a free service."
CASA for Children is on the brink of opening another Children's Advocacy Center in Cass County.
"We're very excited about this. The goal is not to have children have to ride in a car for more than an hour to have a forensic interview or exam. It's less traumatic on the child to have it at a Children's Advocacy Center," Eldridge said.
CASA's experienced staff has helped Eldridge transition successfully to her new role.
"We served over a thousand children last year. We wouldn't be able to do that without dedication and knowledge of staff which includes four therapists and four forensic interviewers, two recruiters and three volunteer advocates. It's a calling for them. They're amazing and I feel like I'm the luckiest person in the world to be able to work with these people. Day in and day out they see some of the darkest experiences and they bring light and hope into that darkness. They are in my opinion true super heroes. Their job is to push back darkness and they do a great job of it," Eldridge said.
CASA was founded in 1990 and the Children's Advocacy Center has been around since 1996, a testament to the community's support for the organization.
"Without community support we wouldn't be here. I don't think there's a higher calling than protecting your children. The Texarkana area is behind us and believes that as well. That just speaks to me of what kind of community we're in when people get behind that," Eldridge said.