Local Program Spotlight: Hill Country CASA

As we enter the holiday season, we are honored to share a story we received from Shannon Walker, Vice President of Permanency at Belong, the community-based care provider for the outlying counties of San Antonio. The story highlights the incredible medical and connection-informed advocacy provided by Hill Country CASA for a youth over the holidays. 

I was on-call on the evening of Saturday, 12/21/24. We have 12yr old young man in conservatorship in Kerr County who has a liver disease that he has had since birth and will eventually need a liver transplant.

On Friday, 12/20/24, he had a routine medical exam at University Hospital in regards to his liver. During the exam, his doctor was concerned about high bilirubin levels and recommended immediate surgery to have a stent put into his liver. He had a quick day surgery the same day and was released. On Saturday, 12/21/24, Amy Harding with Hill Country CASA reached out that his GRO placement was concerned and needed to speak with someone at Belong. He was bleeding and was taken to the ER as a precaution. At the ER they did an emergency CT scan and admitted him to the hospital with concern for internal bleeding.

Amy Harding (CASA Supervisor) and David Nelson (CASA Volunteer) immediately stepped up and were an amazing help. They notified the fictive kin of the young man who went to sit with him at the hospital through Christmas. I want to give a special commendation to Amy and David with CASA for all of their hard work and assistance. Being on-call can be difficult when you are working with limited information. I was blessed to have Amy and David there right away to give me current and accurate information, to communicate with everyone in real time, and to work as a team to ensure that this young man’s well-being was the first priority. Amy and David also went to the hospital to sit with him during the day and communicate with his medical team. With many of our own staff on leave for Holidays, it was amazing to have Amy and David so readily available. This young man has a disability and doesn’t do well with strangers. Their quick thinking to get his fictive kin there was crucial.

– Shannon Walker, Vice President of Permanency at Belong