A Voice for the Voiceless ‘Mother Catherine would be here.’
Lisa Polega, SCN, often spends her days in the courtroom, as her ministry has taken her to Louisville, Kentucky, to help some of the youngest and most vulnerable residents there. Sister Lisa is an advocacy supervisor for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) in Louisville. The nonprofit trains volunteers to be a voice for abused and neglected children in family court. “Oftentimes, and I know a lot of us can say this in our various ministries, I think if Mother Catherine were around today, she would be mixing it up in the Jefferson County family court system,” Sister Lisa said of the work. “Sometimes, I think we don’t have orphans coming down the Ohio River, but there are so many children here in Louisville today that do need care, anything from parenting to fostering. These are the orphans from the wharf.” Sister Lisa said advocates go “toe-to-toe with attorneys” in court to ensure the best decisions are made for the children. “Judges love us. The volunteer prepares the report and submits it to the judge and all attorneys involved,” she said. “Sometimes, you’re in court all day. We are an extra set of eyes and ears to make sure the child is in the best place.” Sister Lisa has a master’s in theology, and through the years, she found herself working toward family unity. In Chicago, she worked with undocumented people seeking asylum, she worked to keep families together and advocated for immigration reform. In Mississippi, she worked with low-income families and through systems to meet their needs. When she first came to Louisville looking for a ministry, Sister Lisa went to her Community for ideas. She processed coming to minister at CASA with Eva Kowalski, SCN, who had a lot of experience working with children and the Covenant House. “I was concerned over some of the difficulties or some of the things I would be encountering,” she said. “Eva basically told me you may not have immediate results, but even if the child 20 or 30 years from now is in the most dire circumstance and they look back on their lives, and they just remember that little glimmer of hope, that kind word that was said to them, measure that as success.” The late Marie Flowers, SCN, also influenced 16
SISTERS OF CHARIT Y OF NA Z ARETH • VOL . II 2022
NAZARETH.ORG
