LaRay Hilt
LaRay Hilt
For LaRay Hilt, program manager, CASA of San Mateo is the “ideal dream” CASA program. She highlights funding that allows CASAs to fulfill needs and make important memories, strong ties with Cal and National CASA that provide important professional development, and thoughtful board policies that prioritize staff mental health as elements that set us apart from other programs. And as CASA of San Mateo has grown over its 20 years, the program’s professionalism and capacity to serve the youth has expanded. LaRay is proud to note that CASA of San Mateo is one of the few programs in the country to serve Juvenile Justice-involved youth.
LaRay also knows that the exceeding dedication of our volunteers brings it all together. “If you don’t have people with that mindset [of seeing the case through no matter the difficulty] …there is no organization. There’s nothing” LaRay states. Our volunteers stick with their kids through placement changes, moves out of county, and the ups and downs of a case, without ever giving up. One volunteer has logged over 2,000 hours with a child and another has been serving foster youth since before CASA of San Mateo was even a stand alone program.
LaRay’s hope for CASA’s next 20 years is to continue to broaden its reach because she knows what an impact CASAs have on their kiddos. She hears time and again from judges, social workers, attorneys, and probation officers how valued CASAs’ input is. And she wants people to know how fun the work is. She always tells volunteers: “Go into the case with the mindset of I am a facilitator of fun. That’s it. And then everything grows from that.”