Ron and Cindy Harris: Being a voice for our community’s most vulnerable

Ron and Cindy Harris have realized that in the volunteer work they are involved in, they are stepping into the open wounds of generational hurt.

The retired couple volunteered to become Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) for children in foster care about 18 months ago. It’s been an eye-opening experience that has humbled them and also given them some of the most rewarding moments in their lives.

As CASA volunteers, Ron and Cindy ensure the children’s voices are heard as the Department of Child Services works with the parents and court to address the issues that led to the children being removed from their homes.

Dubois Circuit Court Judge Nathan Verkamp views CASAs as an integral part of ensuring the children involved in these cases are not lost in the process. He relies on CASAs to make recommendations to ensure the children’s best interests are considered as these cases move forward.

Ron and Cindy volunteered after their daughter suggested it might be fulfilling.

“We retired a few years ago and moved back to Jasper,” Cindy explained. “We spent some time traveling, but when things settled down, I thought that I needed to get involved in something.”

She had known Deena Hubler, director of Dubois County CASA, so she reached out. Deena immediately asked if Ron wanted to become involved as well. “He jumped right in, too,” Cindy said. “It was just something we both wanted to do.”

It was a blind leap. Neither knew much about the CASA program.

“‘ll be honest, I had never been in a courtroom,” Ron said. “And just the idea of that itself was a little intimidating.”

Now they would be working directly with the court, providing reports that would help to shape the outcome of the case and a child’s life.

As soon as their training was completed — a six-week process that culminates with some testing — both were sworn in and assigned to their first cases. They began learning about the needs in Dubois County, as well as the organizations and services that work to help these families and children be brought back together.

“It was very eye-opening,” Cindy said.

She immediately began working with four children, and Ron had a separate case involving two children. They found themselves traveling in opposite directions at times as they got their bearing and began to get to know the children they would be advocating for.

The interest and empathy they bring into these children’s lives make a visible impact. By simply paying attention to them and helping them, “it’s really easy to gain the child’s confidence,” Ron explained. “Little things like helping them read or even spell their own name, just to make them feel like they are important.”

Though the time spent with them is short, it is very impactful, he added.

These moments help build trust between CASA volunteers and the children as they navigate these difficult times.

“Through time, as they get to know you and they know they can trust you and that you are their voice, they open up to you,” Cindy explained.

The experience has also opened their eyes to problems they never realized existed in their own community. Ron, who grew up in Jasper and lived in the area most of his life, says he was shocked by the extent of substance abuse and generational trauma affecting local families.

“I was oblivious to how bad it can be behind closed doors in our own community,” Ron said. “My eyes were opened to the substance abuse, to the multiple generational issues of both mental issues and substance abuse issues.”

The couple discovered that many parents struggling with addiction or simply lack basic life skills, having grown up in similar circumstances themselves.

“When that’s what they’re raised in their entire life, they don’t know how to get out of it. They don’t know how to live differently,” Cindy explained.

Cases can seemingly drag on as parents work through the system to meet the requirements DCS imposes. But for the couple, it’s been a blessing to see people grow, overcome these generational wounds, and have their children returned to them.

“It’s just so rewarding to know that you’re a part, you’re a little piece of that growth and that change in those lives that prayerfully and hopefully, will continue to go that route,” Cindy said.

The Dubois County CASA program needs volunteers. If you are interested in making a direct impact in children’s lives, Ron and Cindy can’t think of a better way to meet that need in Dubois County. CASA’s have a unique opportunity to change a child’s life, according to Ron.

For Ron and Cindy, the work represents a calling they both discovered later in life. They credit their faith with pushing them out of their comfort zones to advocate for vulnerable children in an often-overwhelming system.

A system that was once overwhelming to them.

“Once you get past that, it’s so rewarding,” Ron says. “As long as you feel like you’ve made a difference in not only the child’s life, but in the family’s life, then you just want to take on the next case.”

If you are interested in volunteering for CASA or learning more, you can do so at duboiscountyin.org.