When you think “super hero,” you probably think about capes, flying and laser vision.

What you might not think of is someone in a blue branded t-shirt, sitting quietly in front of a child, listening to that child tell their story.

To 382 kids across Wood, Smith and Van Zandt counties, that’s what a superhero looks like – like a volunteer with CASA for Kids. CASA is Court Appointed Special Advocates.

CASA for Kids is a nonprofit organization which aims to be the guardian ad litem (or “best-interest representative”) for children who have been taken out of their homes by Child Protective Services due to health or safety concerns.

The organization is filled with volunteers who give their entire heart to what they do – people who, in court, represent these abandoned or neglected children as if they were their own.

In fact, for CASA Community Engagement Director Katherine Elliott, a CASA child actually became her child when she and her husband adopted him.

Through the long, and often difficult, process of adopting the baby, Elliott says that she was astounded by the hard work and vitalness of the CASA volunteer who “fought for her son.

“We saw how important she was…. She fought hard for him, and if it had not been for her, who knows what would have happened to him? So we (Elliott and her husband) both became CASA volunteers…, and it was where my heart was,” said Elliott.

That’s why Elliott feels it’s important: because she wants to keep fighting for kids who, like her son, might not otherwise have had a chance.

Elliott, and East Texas CASA for Kids Executive Director/CEO Mary Jo Burgess, want to put the word out to the community that they need more help.

“Right now, we have 20 children in Wood County without a volunteer,” said Burgess. “We need volunteers. Desperately…. Right now, today, please.”

Between the three counties that the local CASA serves, Elliott says that there are “about 115 children who do not have a CASA volunteer – someone to speak for them.”

CASA staff members are still handling these children’s cases, but someone to handle a case one-on-one with a child is more likely to catch necessary details.

While some people, say Burgess and Elliott, feel upon first signing up that they “just can’t” deal with the emotions of being a neglected child’s “superhero,” those who just give it a try end up feeling like they can.

“There are those who think, ‘I don’t think I can do this, but I’m going to try, and I want a very simple case.’ And then they get into it, and that child tells them those painful secrets; and then they become so protective – like that mad mama, or whoever, to where they’re fighting for that child – and then they realize, ‘I guess I can!’” said Elliott.

Volunteers must be 21 or older and able to pass a background and CPS test.

All volunteers enter a 32-hour training program to prepare them for the realities of any case they might come across.

So, what does volunteering look like? With CASA, which is a non-government affiliated program, it all starts when a judge rules that CASA will be involved in a particular child’s case.

From there, volunteers get to choose a case that appeals to their heart – something that they are uniquely matched to because of their skill set, background, or calling.

Then volunteers are able to do a deep dive into why the child was taken from their previous home, make sure the child is taken care of mentally, emotionally and physically at their new, temporary home and visit with them in order to hear their story.

They then take all information regarding the child’s situation and represent them in court. In short, they become a guardian, a “safe adult” for that child to open up to, trust, and confide in.

A superhero.