Meet New CFNEG Fundholder, The Children’s Haven

Meet New CFNEG Fundholder, The Children’s Haven

Over 40 years ago, a judge in Seattle saw that everyone in the courtroom had an attorney or advocate in their corner — except some of the most vulnerable.

The kids.

This judge gathered community volunteers together to advocate for children navigating instability and foster care. This is where Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) volunteers were born.

“When kids are at a sporting event or a play, they look into the audience and look for the special people in their lives,” shared Michelle Meek, director of community engagement at The Children’s Haven.

“The kids we work with have special people who aren’t doing well. They’re trying to heal and hopefully have their children come back home. The CASA volunteers are steady people in the kids’ lives that kids can count on.”

The Children’s Haven has been working in Cherokee County for over 30 years. When Michelle joined the organization in 2014, it was called CASA for Children, Inc.

In 2015, the organization changed its name to The Children’s Haven to expand its services to include visitation, parent support and mentoring.

“The children we serve may have multiple case managers in a really short amount of time, and that could delay a case or services,” Marcie explained. “Our CASA volunteers are committed to advocating for these kids, moving the cases forward and letting our kids know there’s somebody in their corner.”

40 years later, volunteers are still the heartbeat of CASA, often driving across county lines to support children who have been placed away from their communities and schools.

“There’s nothing in it for volunteers,” Marcie said. “They’re just there to do what’s right for these kids, and that has the ability to impact change.”

Michelle added, “So many times with children in foster care, things can fall through the cracks because there’s so many different people involved. Our CASAs might see a medical need someone wouldn’t recognize because they don’t know a child as well. Or they might see a child who needs some tutoring because they’re struggling.”

Thanks to CASA volunteers, children’s needs are being seen and met. But The Children’s Haven doesn’t just support the kids. Through their visitation services, they’re impacting parents and caregivers too.

“Reunification [of children with biological parents] is always the goal until it’s not. Without a safe space to visit and caring individuals trained to support families in the very best ways, it’s hard to get an accurate picture of how the parent might actually parent or the struggles they might have,” Marcie shared.

Within the walls of the Wellstar Family Visitation Center, moms working hard to bring their children home aren’t missing their child’s first steps. Parents working together toward recovery can celebrate their child’s milestones in person, instead of from afar.

“One little girl was visiting for her birthday, and the family brought in a unicorn balloon and all the fun stuff you would do at your house,” Michelle said.

“Her story is so cool because there were around eight nonprofits and churches that touched the lives of that family. This community of people, our CASA program and our Wellstar Family Visitation program came alongside them, and now they have their daughter back.”

Though Cherokee County has had one of the highest rates of foster care in Georgia over the last five years, Marcie and Michelle have seen the community step in.

“We are fortunate that our community believes in what we do, so we have the resources to serve a growing need,” Marcie said. “That’s reflective of how much our community cares about its people.”

As The Children’s Haven continues to grow with the need, they’re also building important partnerships. Recently, the organization opened a fund with the Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia to steward gifts as it grows.

“Partnering with the Community Foundation really has equipped us with language so we can go back to our donors and supporters and show them how we can be good stewards of the gifts they entrust to us,” Marcie explained. 

“We have opportunities for those gifts to safely grow and help provide for the long-term sustainability of our work, especially for future planning for a capital campaign. ” 

Together with local partners and nonprofits, Marcie and Michelle know The Children’s Haven can make a difference for Georgia’s kids.

And you can too! To support The Children’s Haven, donate to its fund.