Monroe Labouisse is an active CASA volunteer & peer supervisor, and has been volunteering with CASA since 2018. His common Bay Area story, a tech entrepreneur asking himself what’s next, led to an uncommon outcome – years of service with the juvenile justice side of our work.

When Monroe stepped away from tech, he knew joining a board wasn’t enough; he wanted to drive direct impact. CASA was a natural fit with the robust training and chance to deeply understand the neighborhoods he lived in. Fast forward eight years, he’s supported boys and young men as a CASA volunteer for most of that time and has also served as a Commissioner with the San Mateo County Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Commission.

“Be patient,” Monroe advises, while noting that some kids have special circumstances, and some things to still figure out. If you just stick with it and just be there, you can help. Don’t expect there to be a timeline. Kids might come from a family without much money, or with mental health issues, or there could be criminal activity or abuse. But the thing that almost always pulls them out of it is their internal motivation – the impact of a teacher, a CASA, a coach, etc. that sparks internal motivation. “At the end of the day, it’s about them, and what they’ll do. We can focus on the societal level, but what I’ve learned is it’s both.”