Volunteer Spotlight: Yatisa Montre' Dupree, CASA of Prince George's County

“Advocacy was a large part of my career”, says Yatisa Montre’ Dupree, a volunteer for CASA of Prince George’s County who has been serving in the role for about one year. As a resident of Prince George’s County for 15 years, Yatisa decided to become a CASA volunteer shortly after retiring from her 20+ year career with a professional employer organization. “I found out about CASA by doing research online and decided it would be a chance to serve my community and be a voice for vulnerable children,” she says.Montre’ is a mother of a son who was born, 1 lb. 10oz and three months premature, an experience she says impacted her decision to become a CASA volunteer. “I was his first advocate,” Dupree says. After her son was born, she ensured that he received proper care and his specific needs were address while being hospitalized. “I feel this experience ignited my desire to help others in addition to participating in church, family and missionary activities”.Yatisa’s current CASA case is with a teen who is in the process of transitioning out of foster care. “I see my CASA teen at least twice a month and we speak daily,” says Dupree. Lunch outings are one of the many things Montre’ does with her CASA teen, an opportunity she describes as a chance to discuss any issues that her CASA teen is facing and also a chance to talk about her interests and map out how she can accomplish her goals.When Yatisa was asked to recount a situation where she was especially instrumental in making a difference for her CASA teen, she described a scenario where her youth did not have her required medications for a very important overnight training. Dupree’ was able to coordinate with her CASA teen’s physician to call-in an emergency prescription for just enough of her medications to get her through the training until her full prescription could be filled.Feeling connected to a community of people with the shared goal of ensuring the best quality of life possible for children under adverse circumstances is just one of the benefits Yatisa associates with being a CASA volunteer.To anyone interested in volunteering with CASA that hasn’t applied yet Montre’ has this to say to you:“It is a serious commitment that requires compassion, patience, endurance, and willingness to be a ‘Horton’ as in Dr. Seuss’s Horton Hears a Who.” “The ‘Who’ in this case are the voices of abused and neglected children that need the support of you, a ‘Horton,’ to ensure their voices are heard and they have what they need to succeed,” she says.For more information on becoming a CASA volunteer and speaking up for the best interests of vulnerable children, visit www.marylandcasa.org/get-involved or call 410-828-6761.