We’re happy to introduce you to Mette Rubin. Mette grew up in a small rural town in Denmark, and fondly recalls the slow pace and sense of small town living. She spent many afternoons gardening or cooking with her dad. “Once my dad and I dug up 200 kilos of potatoes in one afternoon!” Mette said.
In 2012, Mette moved to Santa Cruz with her two kids, and immediately signed up for the CASA training. She was sworn in, and assigned her first child: a 5-year-old boy who was diagnosed as autistic, and was non-verbal. “His only form of communication was grunting, and running away,” said Mette. “Our breakthrough came at a pet store, of all places!” While listening to the cats meowing, Mette started to meow, too. “My boy turned to look at me…and then he started meowing. That was the moment of connection.”
Mette said they “pursued their silly together” for over three years. When the case was closed following her boy’s adoption, he was in a mainstream classroom and, in Mette’s words, “talking up a storm, and impressing many others with his silly and very smart shenanigans!”
Recently Mette took a new case, a 1-year-old boy. “Once again, I’ve been humbled by the family’s openness to letting a stranger like me into their vulnerable situation.” Mette’s experience as a volunteer Advocate has inspired her to go back to school to get her MSW. Mette said, “I’m hoping to work professionally with kids and families who are experiencing difficult times.”
Many don’t know that Mette was a children’s theatre actress in Santa Monica when she was in her early ‘30s. “I especially enjoyed playing the part of Jack’s Mum in a cockney-accented version of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk,’ Mette said, “But soon my full-time mother role crowded out that part of my life — and that was even more fun!”
CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) empowers volunteers to directly influence life-changing decisions affecting children in foster care. To accomplish this, CASA recruits, screens, trains, and supervises Volunteer Advocates who work one-on-one with children and youth in the dependency care system, advocating for their best interests in court, in school, and in the community.
CASA’s next training is May 8 – June 14, Tuesday and Thursday evenings, 6-9 p.m. at the Community Foundation, 7807 Soquel Dr, Aptos. People interested in going through training to become an Advocate can go to our website at www.casaofsantacruz.org to get more detailed information.
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CASA of Santa Cruz County, 813 Freedom Boulevard Watsonville, CA 95076. Phone: 831.761.2956