By Sara Blake
Even after six years volunteering for CASA, Advocate Malinda is still “amazed at how much weight our words carry as CASA volunteers. There are times I’ve been nervous to say something, or I wasn’t sure it was significant, but I said it for the child anyway; and wow, they do listen to what we have to say.”
Malinda first became aware of CASA as a social work student at UT. “I remember being shocked that they allowed people like us students in the courtroom.” She grew up in New Mexico but having been in Austin since 1993, “feels like a true Austinite.” Malinda met her husband in San Angelo – “I’m a Longhorn, and he’s a Red Raider, which makes for fun football games,” she laughs. She worked as a juvenile probation officer for several years and is now a business owner with her husband.
Malinda and her husband share two children, a daughter and a son who passed in a tragic car accident in 2019 at age 20. “I honestly didn’t know if I could continue volunteering after that,” she admits. “But Vincent was so proud of my work with CASA and used to always ask me about it. So, after taking time off, I began working with older kids instead of younger ones. I am changed and so is my advocacy, but I can still do this.”
After 5 cases with CASA, Malinda feels honored each time a child chooses to be open with her. “I thank them for making eye contact with me, especially the older ones,” she says. “As a probation officer, I would see how teens got such a bad rap and how quickly people could make assumptions without having all the facts. But you would not believe how respectful many of these youth are, even after everything they’ve been through. They have such strength and resiliency.”
In this work, Malinda believes it’s important to have empathy for the entire family. “So often the parents are working incredibly hard to get their families out of this situation,” she says.
Malinda shares about a particularly hard goodbye at the end of one case. “I had one child who asked when they would see me again. I told them ‘Your family is doing great! You don’t need me anymore!’ Their response was, ‘but what if when I have kids, they need CASA?’ And that’s the hardest part, isn’t it? Wondering how they’re doing when we aren’t around anymore.”
When asked how she would encourage someone who is considering volunteering, Malinda shares that she has been talking to friends for years about CASA. “I work with a lot of Spanish-speaking cases, and I see how big of a need there is for male, Hispanic volunteers. Of course, women are needed, too – we need everyone! But there is such a need for strong, compassionate men in this role,” she says.
“The hardest part is always starting. But I promise, it’s worth it,” Malinda says. “I’m so thankful I get to do something that I’m passionate about. I’m lucky to have CASA.”
