The Compass Center helps all people navigate their journey to self-sufficiency, safety, and health. They work in opposition to violence in all its forms and support those working to promote racial equality, racial justice, and systemic change in our community and in our country. They empower individuals and promote equal access to opportunity regardless of gender, race/ethnicity, or economic status. Additionally, Compass Center is the only Orange County resource for comprehensive domestic violence crisis services.
Compass Center is closely connected to Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, offering sexual health programming and empowerment programs related to safe relationships in middle school health classes. They are proud to serve more than 6,500 clients each year with essential programs and services including domestic violence services (where clients can work with trained Domestic Violence Advocates), career and financial services (where clients can receive free career and financial counseling), additional self-sufficiency services (where clients can obtain housing and legal information), and information and referral services (where clients can receive referrals to a variety of community resources).
As an organization, Compass Center strives to empower clients to make informed choices that they feel are best for themselves and their families. Compass Center recognizes the uniqueness of individuals while respecting differences in order to ensure that the organization is welcoming and accessible to all. They also work to meet people where they are without judgment while acknowledging the inherent value of every person. In their daily practice, they seek to provide care that is client-focused, trauma-informed, and based on best practices.
Compass Center continues to provide services, primarily remotely, throughout COVID-19. Stay-at-Home orders intended to stop the spread of COVID-19 may be making violence in the home more frequent, more severe, and more dangerous. They have seen contact with clients experiencing domestic violence grow steadily throughout the pandemic.
Ways to Support the work of Compass Center:
- Compass Center always appreciates financial and in-kind donations from the surrounding community. They distribute travel-size toiletries (toothpaste, lotion, deodorant, soap, and shampoo, etc.) as well as condoms and menstrual hygiene products to clients.
- To volunteer at Compass Center, begin by filling out the volunteer application here.
For more information on Compass Center, please visit their website.
Corps member Margaret Hay served at the Compass Center throughout the 2019-2020 program year. She shares a little bit about her experience below:
As the JSC corps member at the Compass Center, I have coordinated our diaper bank, supported volunteers, organized legal services, and connected clients to both in-house and community resources. The position has been a wonderful opportunity to work directly with clients and experience non-profit work on a staff level. While daily life in Chapel Hill has been disrupted by COVID-19, I have been impressed with the resilience and creativity of our non-profit community. Specifically, the Compass Center has transitioned smoothly to mostly remote work and continued to connect with clients across different platforms. I look forward to attending law school at University of North Carolina next year and continuing to work towards gender equity and economic justice.