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The Stay-At-Home Hero: CASA Volunteer Andrea Striepen Makes A Difference

by Matthew Burgoyne
02/08/2008

Three children, two pre-teen girls and a toddler boy, held hostage in their own home. The parents had taken the two girls out of school and locked them and their brother into one of the rooms in the family’s apartment. The baby was fed, but the girls were malnourished and emaciated. They needed to be saved. They needed a hero. Andrea Striepen filled the role.

Andrea is a stay-at-home mom, for lack of a better term. “Stay-at-home” does not give this mother the justice she deserves. Aside from raising her three children, Jonathan, Josefine and Magdalene, she also is an active member of the PTO at her kids’ schools. Andrea attends classes with Josefine who has dyslexia, road bikes, canoes, bakes and volunteers what spare time she has to help save the lives of neglected children in Athens. This woman is far from “stay-at-home.”

“I don’t consider myself a hero. I just enjoy helping the children,” Andrea humbly says.

She is sitting with both feet in her chair with her chin resting on her knees. Her enormous antebellum house smells of baked goods and cleaning products, a combination which is beyond relaxing. Her smile and tone of voice are just as welcoming. As she explains the work she does as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer, a clock balanced against a wide window chimes every hour with a different barn yard animal sound.

“Nay,” the clock chimed. It was nine in the morning, and Andrea was giving the details of her first case as a CASA volunteer.

She began by explaining the strict confidentiality that comes with her work. She cannot give the names of the children or any other involved member of the case, due to federal and state regulations. As she begins, the intensity in her eyes is almost overwhelming. She has a passion for this work and it reads in her sun-kissed face. These children mean a lot to her and she genuinely wants to help them.

Andrea’s first case was ready for her a few days before her training ended. In a vacant home, two girls, 13 and 10, were found malnourished in a room with their baby brother, age two. They had been confined to that little area for six months. The boy seemed to be in good health, but the same could not be said for his sisters. The ten-year-old had ring worm that covered the back of her skull.

Andrea detailed the specifics of the case with ease, as if it was a story she had created herself. Being a CASA volunteer may be new to her, but this line of work is not.

Before immigrating to the United States from Germany with her husband Boris, Andrea received her master’s degree in Social Work at Philipps-Universiät Marburg. After receiving her degrees, Andrea worked in mental health, giving her some background knowledge to use today as a CASA volunteer.

Many of the parents of neglected children are acting out on a mental illness, she says. Also, many children leave those situations with mental and emotional issues. Having an idea of what she may see in these cases eases the severity of the situations she encounters.

Despite her background in the field, Andrea was dealing with a new beast as a CASA volunteer. She was handling the lives and well-being of children. Being the caring person that she is, these cases become her children in a way.

Andrea, not wanting to misinform, grabbed a large, black binder filled to the brim with paperwork. This was her case. Using it as a source, Andrea explained how the process works, detailing court room proceedings and explaining a few regulations that many people have probably never heard of. Her knowledge of the case was startling.

Andrea appeared at every court hearing, a responsibility that even the parents of the neglected children could not handle. She described her relationship with the kids as a lacking one. They did not trust her, nor did anyone else in the situation. The parents would not speak to her, only adding to the difficulty of helping them. Close relatives of the troubled family were also difficult.

“It was just very hard,” Andrea says. It may have been hard, but her work paid off. Andrea was named Volunteer of the Year for the Athens-Oconee CASA.

Andrea’s supervisors had nothing but great things to say about their “Volunteer of the Year.” Christian Orobello, executive director of the local CASA branch, and Melissa Hessenthaler, the volunteer coordinator, describe Andrea as persistent, bright and compassionate. Sitting in the downtown office suite of CASA, Christian and Melissa explain why Andrea was chosen.

“She just continues to try different avenues until she finds something that works best for the children,” Hessenthaler says.

In her first case, Andrea met with every relative she could find until she found a suitable home for the children. It was her number one priority as an advocate to find a better life for these kids. At first they did not understand Andrea’s purpose. They were confused about why they were taken away from their parents and really just wanted to go home.

As this past year and a half progressed, the two girls began warming up to Andrea, because they realized she was there to help. Though they were nicer, Andrea was not convinced that they completely understood what was going on. Then, the oldest daughter, who ended up going to live with her biological father, told Andrea something that made her realize the importance of her work. The girl said that she never wants her siblings to go back and live with their parents. This was the first time that one of the children recognized the problem.

“Baa,” the clock chimed again. It was now ten o’clock.

A CASA volunteer is still a volunteer. They do not have to take on any more cases than they please. After Andrea completed her first case and claimed “Volunteer of the Year,” she took two more cases. The details of these cases are kept secret for obvious reasons, but Andrea is able to tell one story.

The first court hearing for one of her cases was this past week. As part of CASA volunteer protocol, Andrea wrote her report saying what she has found so far in her interviews with the family. One of the most striking details of her report is a request from the children to not return to their abusive parents. The two girls were afraid to tell anyone, but they trusted Andrea.

After waiting for two hours, the judge was finally ready to look at the case. Andrea handed her report to him and returned to her seat reserved for a CASA volunteer. He read it over and allowed the attorneys to go about their business. The case reporter had to read through what seemed like an endless packet of steps the parents must go through to regain custody of the children. Not much attention was being given to Andrea’s report.

The judge sat there with a look of boredom on his face. After listening to both sides, he waited an extra minute in silence, perhaps to phrase what he was going to say. The attorneys for both sides of the case have a common goal of reuniting the separated family. He looked at Andrea’s report and said to the lawyers that they should take a look at it. Then, using the legal jargon of a courtroom proceeding, the judge declared that the children will not be returning to the parents at this current time. Andrea’s report gave the two girls the voices they would not have had otherwise in court. They would not have to return to a life of abuse.

Andrea’s family praises her work. Her three children, all blonde and clever, have nothing but great things to say about their mother. They are extremely supportive of her work and realize that these cases can be draining, physically and emotionally.

“Sometimes it is hard for her, but she gets through it,” says Magdalene, 9, Andrea’s youngest daughter. She is the mirror image of her mother, with the only difference being age.

Andrea remains too humble throughout the whole process. She continually says that she is just grateful that she can help out in some way. She seems to minimize the impact she is having in the community,

“Its hard for CASAs to realize their impact. We want them to feel proud, because the work they are doing is helping to save children from horrible situations,” Orobello says.

When told she is a hero, Andrea refuses to accept it. She tries to justify the praise.

“I am happy that people consider me a hero. But, for me, everyone is a hero in a way. The guy that comes to clean the septic tank is my hero because that is something that I do not want to do,” she says with a laugh.

Andrea may not want to admit it, but her work as a CASA volunteer is heroic. Without her and her fellow advocates, these children would not have voices. They would simply be objects floating back and forth in a legal system with little room for emotions. Andrea, in less than two years, has already saved three children from neglect and is on her way to saving three more.

Athens, as well as the rest of the world, could use a few more Andreas.

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