Note: Sensitive topics are discussed in this segment, including child abuse and abandonment.
If you live in Kansas City, the name Gabriella Pagan may be familiar. She was a news anchor and reporter for KSHB-TV from 2019 to 2022.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, Pagan was forced to reconsider her priorities. She was covering school closures and kids’ mental health and started to see herself in the stories she was reporting.
“School was my safety," she said on Up To Date on Thursday. "Every time I went into a building, regardless of how many times I moved, school was something I could count on. It was a place where I could get food. It was a place where I could forget about life. It was a place where I could learn about a future.”
Pagan is a survivor of childhood abuse. Her parents abandoned her at the age of 17, taking her siblings with them. She hasn’t seen or heard from them since.
After stepping away from her media career, Pagan discovered Johnson County CASA, short for Court Appointed Special Advocates.
CASA recruits and trains volunteers to advocate for children who are in the Jackson County Family Court system.
“You don’t have to keep your story a secret as an adult. That’s what CASA gave me,” Pagan said.
- Gabriella Pagan, director of communications for Quality Schools Coalition
- Angie Blumel, president and CEO of Jackson County Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA)
