Charlyn Hasson-Brown and CASA Advocating for Abused Children

Charlyn Hasson-Brown is one special lady who offers her experience and her heart to her work with children.

Hasson-Brown is the CEO/Director of CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) Children’s Intervention Services, Sterling Women Manassas’s April Nonprofit of the month. Hasson-Brown has been with CASA since 1994, when she applied to be in the first training class for advocates. At that time, a committee of judges, school officials, attorneys and citizens worked to bring CASA to the 31st Judicial District (serving Greater Prince William County). She had one of the first cases appointed in January, 1995.

“The case was a murdered three-year-old. I was appointed to advocate for the surviving five-year-old. This was trial by fire as both the Director and I were new and this was a very high-profile case with packed court rooms and lots of media. The child’s case was later featured in a well-known national magazine,” she said.

By 1998, Hasson Brown had become the fourth Executive Director. The program had grown from serving 50 children annually to over 300 children. By 2012, CASA expanded to the 20th Judicial District (Fauquier, Loudoun and Rappahannock counties). Today over 150 CASA advocates work with about 500 children each year to provide 20,000 hours of advocacy for them. CASA has served over 3,500 maltreated children since it opened its doors in 1995.

Hasson-Brown was drawn to CASA because she was adopted into a family with two other adopted children. Her adoptive family experienced a crisis less than one year after they added their last child. Their 36-year-old adoptive father passed away, leaving his wife with three newly adopted children. A few years later, her adoptive mother married a man who had himself been orphaned and adopted into an abusive home. Hasson-Brown feels her passion was pre-destined.

“My drive and absolute goal in life, was first for myself, to (borrowing from Hemingway) ‘be strong in the broken places,’ and then to help all children whose start in life has been fraught with challenges to also become ‘strong in the broken places,’ to help the children understand, as some wonderful people in my life had done, that they are not responsible for what others have done or said and that they are valuable, worthy beings with hope and help for the future.”

CASA works to give abused children the greatest chance for a more successful future. Hasson-Brown encourages people to give their time or donate to provide advocates for children. She says, “Some are able to dive into the trenches with the children, giving their time helping to pull them out. They should volunteer to become advocates. Some cannot and should not do this. It is not their skillset or they simply do not have the time to give. They should help by donating on a regular basis so that every child who has been abused, neglected or abandoned in our community will have their own Special Advocate. Every child victim deserves to have the greatest possible opportunities, every child deserves a CASA.”

Sterling Women Manassas is a local network of professionals committed to encouraging, supporting, inspiring and strengthening one another. Through events and monthly meetings, Sterling Women Manassas showcases and celebrates exceptional women in the Prince William Area.

Register now for next month’s program featuring Jaspen Booth, Founder of Final Salute, Inc.