BELL COUNTY, Texas — Everyone has a role model while they grow up, whether it be a parent or a celebrity, that person sticks up for them.
For many children in the foster care system, that person is their "CASA," or Court Appointed Special Advocate.
CASA of Bell and Coryell counties consists of a great number of female advocates but they lack the resource of male advocates. They are hoping to change that.
Allowing more men to get involved in CASA sets an example, one that has already been set by some, like Fred Morse, who has been a CASA for nine years.
"I started after I retired because I used to foster myself and we loved it," Morse said.
He was faced with a challenge in one of his first cases.
Not only did he have to care for the boy, but he had to look out for the father too.
Now, it isn't an obligation for a CASA to step in and work with the parent. Sometimes it's just a choice of good will.
"We got his father to realize what he really needed to do," he said. " I refused as an advocate to recommend he go back to his father."
The father had anger management to attend, and until he did, there was no option of seeing his son. Morse knew the father could do better.
Three years after the boy left Morse, he ran into the child's grandmother. She told him the boy had been reunited with his family and was living a beautiful life.
"He did go back to school he did go back to his father and his father did change," he added.
If you are a man and want to become an advocate, there's a really cool event that'll help you get all the information you need.
CASA will host an informational session at Nolan Creek Brewery on Feb. 23 on how to be a CASA as a man. There will be free beer and food served along with all the information.