This holiday season, Compass needs your help.

It’s been a hard few weeks. A resident set off a sprinkler in one of our buildings, sewage backed up in another, I lost my laptop in a burglary at our administrative offices, and one of our senior staff members has been diagnosed with a break-through case of COVID-19.

Problems have been more numerous than usual lately, but tough circumstances are common at Compass. It’s part of the work we do. The saving grace is that most of these events only deal with property. Usually, the heartrending nature of our work involves walking alongside people in situations that would cause many of us to break.

So why do it? Honestly, there are days when I ask myself that question. Compass is a second career for me. I spent 25 years as an attorney at a large law firm and some days I miss being able to spend almost unlimited resources on problems more academic than the gritty day-to-day struggles we see at Compass.

But then I think of a young man I met several years ago sleeping in the youth drop-in center I was running at the time. His face hid against the back of a tan leather couch, and he wore a hoody identical to the one my son had worn to school almost every day that year. For a moment – just for a moment – I thought it was my son.

I realized then that everyone, no matter what their stage in life, deserves to have someone feel about them the way I felt about that young man at that moment.

Everyone deserves to have someone who sees their potential and wants the best for them.

That’s what we do at Compass. It’s a beautiful thing. I am so glad that I can be just a small part of the journey.

Mary Steele, Executive Director

One more thing. With the emergence of the Omicron variant and the expected harsh winter weather coming up, Compass needs your help. We need to raise $100,000 in order to meet our 2021 fundraising goal. Please consider helping your neighbors and giving to Compass today. We can only do this work because of the generosity of people just like you.