CASA Advocate Dorothy Piquado

It’s trivia time. What connection do Sierra Leone, Lebanon, Iran, Brazil, Indonesia, Egypt, Ecuador, and China all have with Court Appointed Special Advocates of New Hampshire? Amazingly, these are all places CASA volunteer Dorothy Piquado and her husband John taught during their 37-year careers as educators. During many of these years they had their own children in tow. (Not many people can say their children’s graduation ceremonies were held at the pyramids, and that their high school diplomas are printed on papyrus!)

After decades of working with young people all across the globe and raising her own children, Dorothy craved something meaningful to do in retirement. Thirteen years in, it’s safe to say she’s found the perfect fit at CASA of NH.

“I love learning, I love meeting people, and I love helping,” says Dorothy. “When we were teaching, my husband and I taught at the same school. We’d have a meeting, and someone would start talking about a committee they wanted to form to do this or that, and my husband would say, ‘Dorothy, sit on your hands.’ That’s just me, I like to be involved in things. I don’t like to sit on my hands.”

This certainly applies to Dorothy’s efforts as a CASA. In addition to serving on three cases (the maximum caseload allowed to ensure CASA children receive ample attention and CASA advocates don’t burn out), Dorothy supports her fellow volunteers as a Peer Coordinator, and helps spread the word of CASA’s mission any chance she gets.

Dorothy is the first to reassure a CASA peer during a rough time, or encourage a neighbor (or complete stranger) to think about volunteering. Having advocated for dozens of children and counting, she’s aware of the pain, fear, and uncertainty the children have experienced. She knows the struggles parents face on the road to overcoming their missteps. But her enthusiasm for this role never falters because she’s seen time and again how her contributions have helped bring about happy endings for children and families.

A case of Dorothy’s that illustrates this involved a child who was born while his parents were in prison. The grandmother was taking care of the infant, but ended up being charged with a legal infraction herself. “Over the course of the next two years,” Dorothy says, “this grandmother was not giving up. She stayed in that child’s life, she wanted that child. Accusations were made against her, but she handled them, she was determined.”

During this time, the child also had contact with his father. As the child’s advocate, Dorothy would sometimes attend the visits. “One day when the child was 18 months old,” she recalls, “I went to the prison to see him visit his dad. They made them visit with glass between them and only the telephone to communicate through. I watched this young father, all he had was a piece of paper, and with that baby sitting there on the counter, he entertained his child for a solid hour with nothing but that piece of paper. I couldn’t believe it. That child was happy. That showed me that you can be in jail and be a good dad.”

The abundant love and steadfast resolve shown by both the child’s father and grandmother were the proof Dorothy needed that she should advocate for the child to be permanently reunited with his grandmother.

“Long story short,” she says, “the child is now with his grandparents. I am still in that child’s life, they view me as family. I’ve been to every one of his birthday parties. I’ve been invited to and have attended the Christmas party they have in the prison for the families. And it’s such an honor to see that child go to the jail and leap into his father’s arms. And you have never in your life seen a happier child. His father calls him several times a week, and they talk for an hour. And the child visits him every week. Even though his father is in prison, he knows all about his family, and he’s hearing it from them and not from stories told about him on the playground. I know I made the right decision, but I had to fight for it for this child. I’m proud of that case”

“Everybody says that it’s so good that I’m doing this,” continues Dorothy, “but I do it for me. I really do it for me, I’m selfish that way. It’s something I get so much out of. Even though it’s hard sometimes. My joke to myself is, if I didn’t do CASA I’d have to stay home and clean my house – and that’s not a joy. I don’t want my tombstone to say ‘She kept a clean house.’”

For Dorothy, joy has never been about having a perfectly clean home – no matter what country she was in. Joy is about the love within that home. As a CASA, that’s something she experiences when a child is made whole by placement with their loving forever family.

 

If you would like to become a CASA volunteer advocate and help children, consider attending an upcoming virtual information session to learn more, or submit an application today.