Beautiful, bold, courageous and proud of her daughter are some of the words that describe Eunice Casey. But who is she? She was just like you and me. A person who had their highs and lows. A person who dealt with joy and pain. However, suffering was, unfortunately, more evident and this pain eventually took control over Eunice Casey’s life.

Eunice Casey was born on April 23, 1946, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to the late Curtis Casey and Ida Julia Casey (nee Dobson). She was the oldest of four siblings. She also had an older sister from her father’s previous relationship.

Eunice grew up in a very volatile home environment. Her father was sometimes violent and physically aggressive towards her mother. She also witnessed many traumatic experiences that no innocent young child should have ever had to witness during their childhood. While in high school Eunice’s parents split up and went their separate ways. Despite her parents’ separation, Eunice did well in high school. She participated in band and played the violin. While growing up Eunice enjoyed singing her favorite songs with her only brother Curtis and sister Janice. In 1964 after maintaining decent grades Eunice graduated from Fifth Ave High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1964.

After graduating high school Eunice worked as a nurse’s aide and took college classes. She met and fell in love with an aspiring musician named Richard Wilson. In 1970 she gave birth to her only child a beautiful daughter now known as Leslie Denise Casey-Blake. Eunice loved and would do anything for her daughter Leslie. Despite having to raise Leslie on her own she took pride in making sure she did everything to make sure to care and love her daughter. At the beginning of Leslie’s upbringing things started to look promising for Eunice.

However, in 1972 Eunice’s life started to turn for the worst. While visiting her mother, Eunice exhibited some visibly odd and impulsive behaviors. She started talking to herself and later washed her hair with dish washing detergent. This was beginning of Eunice’s bout with Schizophrenia. This incident was the precipitating factor that to, Eunice being diagnosed with the Schizophrenia disease. The disease made it difficult for Eunice to work and spend quality time with her daughter whom she loved so much. Eunice eventually was prescribed anti psychotic medications that made her very sleepy and lifeless.

Despite having Schizophrenia, Eunice was motivated and determined to help her daughter while they were living in deplorable conditions. Eunice was very unhappy with living and raising her daughter in a disgusting apartment. The apartment in the projects where they lived in was infested with roaches. If the roach infestation problem was not bad enough the children made life miserable for Leslie by continuously mistreating and teasing her. Eunice had enough! She immediately grabbed a brown paper bag of clothes and took Leslie to her mother’s apartment. Eunice emphatically told her mother that she would not have her daughter ever live again in the projects. She then persuaded her mother to keep her and Leslie. Eunice and Leslie moved in with her mother and never looked back at their poor and appalling living arrangements.

For the moment things started to go well for Eunice. Eunice started back to school and therapy while being responsible for Leslie. She even began to date. Unfortunately for Eunice, the relationships with men were toxic. During this period her disease became progressively worse. Eunice again would talk to herself. She would also write the Nazi swastika symbol on her body and clothes. These extenuating circumstances caused Eunice to have Leslie live from relative to relative. Eunice eventually left Leslie with Richard’s mother while she lived in the streets. After almost being the ward of the court Leslie decided to move back with her grandmother Ida. Ida raised Leslie until she graduated from high school.

During Leslie's time at her St. Agnes Elementary School, Eunice would often attempt to visit Leslie while she was at school. During her visits, Eunice would talk to herself and she smelt of urine. Being a young child Leslie would be embarrassed by her mother. Principal Sister Elizabeth Ann and the teachers at the St Agnes Elementary School were very protective of Leslie. The staff at the school would allow Eunice to see Leslie for a designated period then they would ask her to leave so Leslie could go back to her schoolwork. Leslie was well respected by the students at the school. She was never teased about her mother by the students. Leslie was shown support by her peers because everyone loved her how friendly she was, her incredible talent and strong work ethic.

During this time, Leslie would often see her mother lying on the porch of her house early in the morning. Her grandmother would wake Eunice up and bring her in the house to clean her up. She would also without hesitation launder Eunice’s dirty clothes. Throughout her stressful living experiences, Eunice continued to demonstrate her love and care for her daughter. When Eunice could, she would leave Leslie with bags of McDonald cheeseburgers before returning back to her life on the streets. Leslie and her grandmother were always worried about Eunice well-being. They were fearful that one day they would get a call that something terrible happened to Eunice.

After Leslie entered high school, Eunice started to make a transition to improve her living situation. In a conversation with her daughter, Eunice described how she was in someone’s apartment who she feared. The fear instilled in Eunice that day motivated her to stop living on the streets and to get help. She climbed out of the apartment window for safety and then proceeded to the nearest hospital to get the treatment she so desperately needed. From there, Eunice was assigned to transitional housing. She had two roommates where she lived and maintained a healthier lifestyle. As Eunice started to get healthier her relationship with Leslie started to improve. Leslie would spend every Sunday with Eunice. They would cook dinner and talk about Leslie’s dreams and aspiration. It was a beautiful relationship during this time between both mother and daughter. Eunice saw Leslie graduate from high school and eventually go to college. During this period Leslie, did not complete college but Eunice could proudly see Leslie success after getting promoted while being employed in the corporate world.

Eventually, Eunice got to move into her own apartment. She also had the opportunity to visit her daughter when Leslie lived in Maryland. Unfortunately, during this same period, Eunice was diagnosed with Leukemia. She lived with the disease for about three years. She succumbed to the disease on September 13, 2000, eleven days after her mother Ida passed away. Eunice and her mother were buried close together in Allegheny Cemetery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The death of both her grandmother and mother in a short span of time was devastating to Leslie. Eunice’s death was more painful to Leslie because she always felt the need to be there for her mother. This sense of urgency caused Leslie to helplessly feel she should have done more for her mother. Leslie also felt bothered that she was uncomfortable talking about her mother’s illness. The sense of urgency of feeling that she was could have done more for her mother has motivated Leslie to share her mother’s story with the world.

In 2010, Leslie was inspired by her mother Eunice to start an organization that addresses mental illness and homelessness. In 2013, Leslie founded the Dedicated Innovation Visionary Association known by the acronym of D.I.V.A. The nonprofit organization was designed to be a women's organization that to bring assistance and support, to those who like her mother Eunice, deal with mental illness and homelessness. D.I.V.A. was also going to supports disadvantaged students by offering them scholarship opportunities and mentoring programs in Baltimore city where both Leslie and her husband Brian Blake work.

After years of stagnant results, in October 2021, Leslie believe her mother should truly be the face of this organization, to show that everyone, men and women can be apart of this work. So, the official name changed to the nonprofit named The Eunice Casey Foundation, Inc, or ECF Incorporated. Not only Leslie mother is the face of the organization she is the brand. Current members wanted the organization to reflect and highlight more of Eunice's personal struggles and successes, but allow all to be apart to help those who are homeless and suffering from mental illness. Leslie felt changing the name and making sure this is solely about her mom will take the nonprofit to a new level.

Leslie hopes that when people hear her mother’s story that they will have a place turn to and not feel alone. Through her mother’s Eunice’s legacy, she is motivated through her organization. ECF Incorporated is determined to get families the help their loved ones need, and to help them transform into individuals who will want to work together to contribute towards the betterment of society. In the end, Leslie wants people to know that Eunice did not die in vain and her memory will continue to benefit those individuals who are disadvantaged in all communities.