CASA Spotlight: Paul Dixon's Virtual Advocacy is Making a Difference

This CASA, a 30-year Army veteran, served six tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and was not a fan of video gaming. But Paul Dixon gamely signed up for Fortnite—a video game that attracts millions. It is also the favorite pastime for one 12-year-old boy. A boy who was deserted in June 2019 by his mother and never knew his father, who is now in the care of his aunt.

In April, when the now-retired Army officer first called the boy as his CASA volunteer, Paul learned all about this cooperative survival game for players who fight off zombie-like creatures.

“I had no idea what I was doing so the character Fortnite assigned me was a woman—a strong, tough woman—but nevertheless, a female, so it took tech support from this 12-year-old to get me assigned to a new character,” said Paul, who now works full-time at National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in downtown St. Louis.”

“Paul is amazing—a positive male role model for this child—he has shown this child that someone cares by listening and being attentive. More remarkable, Paul did this as a new volunteer using only virtual connections due to the pandemic,” said Tammie Powell-Williamson, Manager of CASA of St. Louis’ Advocacy Program.

Paul will advocate for the child in court when his case comes up, but in the meantime, he will continue to talk monthly with the aunt, the boy and others to determine if the boy has the care and services he needs.

Paul has nothing but praise for the strong support and guidance he receives from Tammie and the 30 hours of CASA training Director of Training and Volunteer Development Shamele Hill provided.

In February 2020, Paul began that training after a call from his oldest daughter who learned about the program in Colorado and who insisted he check it out.

The father of two grown daughters, Paul has years of experience leading young men, but in determining the needs of a 12-year-old, he thought back to growing up in Ballwin as a boy who played sports and explored his neighborhood.

Do his experiences living all over the United States and world help him relate to this child?  “He is curious about my travels. We had just finished a conversation when he asked me what it was like in New Mexico, where I `went to school,” Paul said. “He wanted to know about New Mexico---I told him about the mountains and how far you can see. This child has never seen mountains, but he’s had to climb some personal mountains that have been very steep.”  Paul says that he’s looking forward to making more progress as he advocates for this child.