feature story / 17 Peskin remembers being nervous before they met. Anderson was her first CASA case, though not her first experience mentoring youth. What she didn’t expect was how quickly the connection would feel genuine. “She was engageable,” Peskin says. “We started having really great, honest conversations right away.” For decades, Peskin had volun teered with young people through out New York City experiencing homelessness, incarceration and in stability. “What I was really drawn to [with CASA] was the opportunity to focus deeply on one child and build a relationship,” she says. Their conversations quickly moved beyond surface-level small talk into deeper discussions about race, trust, family and lived experience. Anderson admits she initially felt uncertain opening up to a white ad vocate. “What if I tell you I’m hav ing a bad hair day?” Anderson jokes. “Are you going to understand that?” Instead of avoiding those differ ences, they talked openly about them. “I believe the only thing that will save this country is people getting to know each other across differences,” Peskin says. “Across racial difference, generation, socioeconomic difference. Let’s actually get to know each other.” Over time, trust grew. But not without resistance. “I pushed every body away,” Anderson says. “I just felt like, growing up in the system, people didn’t have my best interest in mind.” Peskin kept showing up, even when Anderson changed phone numbers, when life became chaotic and when it would have been easier to disappear. “She always found a way to get in contact with me,” Anderson says. “That’s when I knew Joy was going to stick by my side forever.” Peskin remembers one winter meeting at a diner in Newark just before Christmas. Temperatures had dropped below 10 degrees that day, yet Anderson arrived wearing only a tank top, sweatpants and slides. When Peskin asked whether she had a coat, Anderson admitted she could not afford one. In her next court report, Peskin requested additional funds so An derson could purchase winter cloth ing. Initially, the request was denied by the Division of Child Protection and Permanency. But the judge inter vened and ordered the funds be pro vided. “I can’t solve the foster care problem in this country,” Pe skin says. “But I can help get a coat for a teenager who’s cold in the winter. And that really matters.” Peskin says that one of the most difficult parts of foster care for young people can be the court process itself. “You enter the system because adults failed you,” she says. “But over time, it can start to feel like you’re the one on trial.” During court hearings, Peskin made a point to advocate not only for Anderson’s needs but for the judge to see her strengths as well. “I always tried to talk about the good things Courtney was doing,” Peskin says. “I wanted the court to see the promising young woman she already was.” After becoming pregnant at 19, she bounced between shelters and temporary housing while trying to prepare for motherhood. But along side the instability was something else: determination. “She doesn’t quit,” Peskin says. “When Courtney wants something, she commits.” When Anderson applied for a highly competitive housing program for young mothers aging out of foster Courtney Anderson at her high school graduation. The Jennifer McManus Team (917) 837-2192 jennifer.mcmanus@cbmoves.com SOLD – $2,800,000 229 Orange Rd, Montclair Listed Exclusively for $2,400,000 UNDER CONTRACT! 4 Kermit Rd, Maplewood Multiple over ask Bids UNDER CONTRACT! 5 Highland Blvd, West Orange Multiple over ask Bids SOLD! 9 Osborne Ter, Maplewood SP: $1,825,000 SOLD! 59 Park Ave, Maplewood) SP: $1,253,000 SOLD! 35 Broadview Ave, Maplewood SP: $931,000 UNDER CONTRACT! 63 Blanchard Rd, South Orange Multiple over ask Bids SOLD! 318 Metzger Dr, West Orange Exclusive Sale: $979,000 The Jennifer McManus Team Has Been HARD AT WORK. Look at Some of Our MAY RESULTS! Let the Jennifer McManus Team get you MOVING. Read what this client says about Jen: “Jen’s knowledge of the market is deep, and she not only marketed our house, she marketed the neighborhood. It was great to navigate this experience confident that we were in good hands with a whip smart agent who has a great sense of humor and takes everything in stride.”
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