COLORADO SPRINGS — The Court Appointed Special Advocates for the Pikes Peak Region stated Wednesday that the amount of referrals to their program has been doubled compared to this time last year.

“We do not have enough volunteers to serve all the children. At any given time there are 900 kids in the Pikes Peak Region who need a CASA volunteer,” Communications Manager for Casa of the Pikes Peak Region Keri Kahn said.

Kahn said high-stress situations can leave some children more at risk for abuse and neglect.

“We never once stopped advocating, because of the pandemic they are more vulnerable then they were before,” Kahn said.

She said even though some kids are doing virtual learning teachers and school administrators can still look our for warning signs when it comes to their students.

Some physical signs to look out for is bruising and burns. Some non-physical signs to look out for is how the child is acting.

“Just because it is virtual learning that doesn’t mean they cant look out for those kids. It gives teachers a glimpse into a child’s home life,” Kahn said.

She said right now they are in need of more volunteers.

“We do not have enough volunteers to serve all the children. At any given times there are 900 kids in the Pikes Peak Region who need a Casa volunteers,” Kahn said.

They are hosting a volunteer information meeting via zoom on Thursday.