Vigilant Voices™ hosted by Jeannine Panzera and Kristin Blalock from Henrico CASA

Whether the holidays are a cheerful or challenging time, they are almost always full of big emotions! This is especially true for children who have experienced abuse or neglect.

Joins us as we answer the questions:

- Why are the holidays difficult for vulnerable youth?

- How can we best support them through the holidays?

In our work as Court Appointed Special Advocates, we’ve learned that it’s important to KNOW about the challenges facing children and families to ensure NO child faces abuse, neglect, or trauma. Follow Henrico CASA's mission, work, and impact at www.HenricoCASA.org and on social media: Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

It takes a village. EVERYONE can play a part… individuals like

In this episode, we reference a few points of inspiration to remind you that YOU are part of "the village"!

In our work as Court Appointed Special Advocates, we’ve learned that it’s important to KNOW about the challenges facing children and families to ensure NO child faces abuse, neglect, or trauma. Follow Henrico CASA's mission, work, and impact at www.HenricoCASA.org and on social media: Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Knowing what a child needs to heal often requires that we look behind their behaviors to see their underlying needs... Needs that must be addressed in order to move forward in a healthy way. Join us in talking through the question: ‘what is this behavior telling me?’

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In our work as Court Appointed Special Advocates, we’ve learned that it’s important to KNOW about the challenges facing children and families to ensure NO child faces abuse, neglect, or trauma. Follow Henrico CASA's mission, work, and impact at www.HenricoCASA.org and on social media: Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

There are many 'Vigilant Voices' in our community, speaking up for the wellbeing of children. Today, we welcome Denise Purgold, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and the Adoption Supervisor at UMFS.

The services that Denise offers, including parent coaching, are available to families for FREE thanks to state funded Regional Post Adoption Consortium Services. Click to learn more at or submit a referral here.

We hope our guest episodes help you feel connected to a community of people who, like you, have a heart for supporting children. Be sure to listen all the way through to Denise's call to action... you'll need the following resources to follow-through!

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In our work as Court Appointed Special Advocates, we’ve learned that it’s important to KNOW about the challenges facing children and families to ensure NO child faces abuse, neglect, or trauma. Follow Henrico CASA's mission, work, and impact at www.HenricoCASA.org and on social media: Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Every child responds to trauma differently. How can we help them bounce back or, even better, bounce forward? Join us as we discuss resilience, the ability to overcome or lessen the negative impact of trauma.

Today's episode references the following two articles related to resilience:

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In our work as Court Appointed Special Advocates, we’ve learned that it’s important to KNOW about the challenges facing children and families to ensure NO child faces abuse, neglect, or trauma. Follow Henrico CASA's mission, work, and impact at www.HenricoCASA.org and on social media: Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Sometimes children are removed from their home because sadly, it just

Learn more about kinship care and how we can support these families in Henrico CASA's September 2023 blog posts.

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In our work as Court Appointed Special Advocates, we’ve learned that it’s important to KNOW about the challenges facing children and families to ensure NO child faces abuse, neglect, or trauma. Follow Henrico CASA's mission, work, and impact at www.HenricoCASA.org and on social media: Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

There are many 'Vigilant Voices' in our community, speaking up for the wellbeing of children. Today, we welcome John Richardson-Lauve, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Trauma-Informed Care Specialist, and the current Director of Outreach at St. Joseph's Villa.

In our work as Court Appointed Special Advocates, we’ve learned that it’s important to KNOW about the challenges facing children and families to ensure NO child faces abuse, neglect, or trauma. Follow Henrico CASA's mission, work, and impact at www.HenricoCASA.org and on social media: Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Preventing child abuse could be as simple as preventing unhealthy responses to stress.  Often, there is a stressor that is an underlying cause of abuse or neglect. When we find ways to prevent that stressor or help someone cope with it, we can in essence stop abuse before it even starts.

The stress busters shared in this episode originate in the PACEs Connection Stress Busters Handout, found here.

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In our work as Court Appointed Special Advocates, we’ve learned that it’s important to KNOW about the challenges facing children and families to ensure NO child faces abuse, neglect, or trauma. Follow Henrico CASA's mission, work, and impact at www.HenricoCASA.org and on social media: Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Children have needs that must be met before they can engage in learning. These needs (physiological, safety, and belonging) are the foundation of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Click here for a helpful visual while you listen to this episode.

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In our work as Court Appointed Special Advocates, we’ve learned that it’s important to KNOW about the challenges facing children and families to ensure NO child faces abuse, neglect, or trauma. Follow Henrico CASA's mission, work, and impact at www.HenricoCASA.org and on social media: Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

There are many 'Vigilant Voices' in our community, speaking up for the wellbeing of children. Today, we welcome Abbey Philips. Abbey has more than ten years of experience in advocacy work: professionally on a policy level, and personally on an individual level as a Court Appointed Special Advocate.

You'll hear about Abbey's passion for advocacy in today's episode, but you can also read more about her in this article by Style Weekly. Abbey was one of their Class of 2023: Top 40 Under 40.

We hope our guest episodes help you feel connected to a community of people who, like you, have a heart for supporting children. Be sure to listen all the way through to Abbey's call to action!

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In our work as Court Appointed Special Advocates, we’ve learned that it’s important to KNOW about the challenges facing children and families to ensure NO child faces abuse, neglect, or trauma. Follow Henrico CASA's mission, work, and impact at www.HenricoCASA.org and on social media: Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.