Darlene Naquin
Meet Darlene Naquin. Darlene swore in March of 2021. She was quickly assigned to a 9-year-old little girl and has worked hard to form relationships as this was an established case that she took over. Darlene was encouraged to join CASA by her daughter Ashley who is currently fostering. She is married to James Naquin and has 3 daughters, Alisha, Ashley, and Andrea along with 3 sons-in-law, Bradley, Brad, and Derek. She also has 11 grandchildren and 2 foster grandchildren- 6 girls and 7 boys. She says that grandkids genuinely make life grand! She and her husband also have a tiny poodle name Phoebe. She is 7 ½ years old and loves to travel in her very own car seat. Darlene retired from her job as a financial management/advisor after 16 years. She also spent 12 years in the medical field. She chose to take early retirement to care of her mother until she passed away. She is thankful for the time she was able to spend with her.
Darlene was born in Port Sulphur, La but soon moved to Waynesboro, MS where she lived until she was 11 ½. She then moved to Houma, where she still resides. In her free time, Darlene enjoys gardening, traveling and learning about new cultures including cuisine, music and art. She loves to try new things including recipes and teas. She can often be found in their pool along with her grandchildren, shopping with her daughters or granddaughters, reading or attending bible study. One of her favorites is spending time with her “grands”.
Darlene is very tied to family traditions. One of these traditions is collecting clocks, including coo coo, rhythm motion, and grandmother (shorter than grandfather). She remembers growing up with the chimes and coo coo birds and wishes to pass that on to her “grands”. She is also big on Christmas traditions. She believes in lots of decorations both inside and out. And what would Christmas be without a large family gathering? Darlene’s grandmother’s birthday was Christmas Eve, so it is always a bit more special to the family.
When talking about her CASA case, Darlene states that she chose CASA because of her soft heart towards children and her daughter’s encouragement. She says “When you first meet your child, it’s such a heartfelt experience! Just listening to them talk and smiling makes the training all worth it.” She was nervous about going through the training but realized that there are lots of people always willing to help guide her when needed. And it doesn’t hurt that CASA feeds our trainees well.
“Anyone can volunteer to become a CASA! I was oblivious on what to expect but my trainer was incredible and patient. There are so many children that need a CASA and it doesn’t take up much of your time. It is worth all the effort because the importance of being a CASA outweighs the fear.”
