Emily Liu began volunteering with CASA Mental Health in September 2023 and has since contributed more than 75 hours of her time.
She first provided child-minding services to CASA’s Trauma and Attachment Group for teens. Then, as an experienced and talented pianist, she arranged with Volunteer Resources to provide weekly ‘Piano 101’ lessons on Fridays at CASA House.
CASA House youth have enjoyed Emily’s lessons since January and will continue in the fall, after she takes a summer break.
What would you say is your biggest gain from volunteering at CASA?
Definitely the chance to even be teaching the kids at CASA, and just to be working with them and really feeling like I’ve made a difference. Sometimes they can be going through a rough day or even a rough week while living in the treatment facility. After the lessons, I think seeing them cheer up over time, seeing the smiles on their faces afterwards is really rewarding.
Have you received any feedback from any of the patients or staff from your piano lessons?
The very first lesson I did, it was like a trial run. We did a little performance for 10-15 minutes with a couple of the teens who were staying over the weekend just to see if they would be interested in it. I remember one of the teens, she was so shocked, like mouth wide open. She was saying how she had never seen someone be able to play piano so well, how she was so impressed and how incredible it was. That’s something that really stuck with me. Some of the staff have been just incredibly supportive and have mentioned how they appreciate the work that I do a lot. It’s really wonderful.
With so many great organizations to support, why should others choose to support CASA?
Probably the main thing that drew me into CASA was my own personal lived experiences learning to find balance with my mental health. Then with volunteer work that I did with the Zebra Centre, I really started to feel there’s a bit of a gap in terms of access to mental health services in and around the Edmonton community. I think what drew me into CASA was just the opportunity to hopefully help close the gap. In my opinion, it seems like CASA is doing a wonderful job, especially when it comes to trying to extend the reach of their services, not only just in Edmonton, but also in rural areas as well. I think it’s just a wonderful organization to give back to and hopefully help support continue the work that they’re doing.
How do you take care of your mental health?
I always try to take at least a couple of minutes throughout my day to look back and reflect on how I’m doing. I think it’s really important to take that time out of your day, or even your week, to check in on yourself. Life can get very busy with work, school and everything else that people tend to have going on in their lives. I also like to play piano, of course, but I like cooking in my free time, reading memoirs, going to the gym, weightlifting, things like that.
Is there anything else you would like to add about your experience?
I would say to any incoming volunteers that I really appreciate how flexible CASA has been in terms of being able to tailor volunteer opportunities to the unique skill sets of each volunteer. When I came into CASA, I had no idea that I would end up teaching piano at CASA House. I think being open-minded to any potential volunteer opportunities and not being afraid to pitch new ideas would be something to keep in mind, for sure.
For more information on becoming a CASA volunteer like Emily, visit casamentalhealth.org/volunteer.
