Community Support Drives Outcomes Since the beginning of the pandemic, in addition to our comprehensive programs focused on shelter, housing, childcare, mental health services and employment support for thousands of San Francisco children and parents, Compass has expanded our offerings to meet needs that began to emerge at the beginning of the health crisis - emergency supplies, COVID-related rental assistance, hot meals and exponentially more groceries and food pantry items, technology for distance learning and more. It takes at least a village to support families during this unprecedented time of need and we’ve seen our village rise to the occasion through an immeasurable amount of community support and generosity. Time and again, Compass volunteers showed up to make a difference for our families, whether through packing groceries, delivering furniture to a recently housed family’s new home, or helping organize clothes and toys at our 37 Grove service hub. Volunteers also helped launch innovative new initiatives to support Compass families. Our Homework Helpers project connected volunteer tutors with Compass children for weekly virtual tutoring, a meaningful supplement of academic support during distance learning. There is no task too small and every minute volunteers spent to support Compass meant more time for staff to provide critical direct services to families in distress. Last fiscal year, over 600 volunteers contributed over 10,000 volunteer hours to support Compass’ mission to help homeless and at-risk families achieve lasting stability and well-being.

Claudia is a single mother with two young children in San Francisco. She had a difficult time returning to the workforce due to a lack of available childcare and was stuck on waitlist after waitlist with no end in sight. A friend recommended Compass to Claudia and she was connected with Leticia, a case manager at Compass Childcare Support Services, who provided Claudia with hands-on support to determine how best to meet her childcare needs, apply for childcare subsidies, visit childcare providers and explore her childcare options. With Leticia’s support, Claudia was able to secure childcare for her children and started working as a housekeeper. Claudia then joined C-WORK in order to build new skills and find more sustainable employment. Prior to joining C-WORK, Claudia did not know how to use a computer and had an email account she rarely used. With support from bilingual workforce case managers, Jackie and Juliana, Claudia was able to increase her computer literacy skills and build her confidence. Claudia attended training and networking events through C-WORK, and her Compass case managers connected her with a local entrepreneurship program called CHALK that is providing her with skills to start her own business selling handmade jewelry from Oaxaca and supporting indigenous Oaxacan artisans. By starting her own small business, Claudia hopes to eventually earn a sustainable wage and have more time to spend with her kids. Thanks to the incredible support from the team at C-WORK, Claudia has been empowered to achieve her goals and feels more than ever that her dreams are within reach.

Despite the rollout of vaccines and the beginnings of economic recovery, many Compass parents struggled to find stable work. The industries many had previously worked in, such as tourism and hospitality, were greatly affected by the pandemic and slow to return to pre-pandemic levels of operation, offering limited opportunities and fewer work hours. To better support parents in finding sustainable work with livable wages, Compass launched a new workforce development initiative called Compass Workforce Development & Resources, or C-WORK, in January of 2021, within Compass Family Resource Center. Dedicated workforce case managers help participants address and remove barriers to employment, identify employment pathways, connect with training providers and assist our client parents to ultimately secure quality employment. Compass’ comprehensive workforce programming includes one-on-one case management, career coaching and a series of virtual workshops focused on topics such as job applications, soft skills, resume building, interview preparation and financial empowerment. Bilingual workforce case managers also host weekly virtual drop-in hours during which participants can receive support in their job search and address any barriers they are facing. Additionally, C-WORK collaborates with local organizations and businesses to connect Compass families with job opportunities and resources through virtual jobs fairs, career panels, workshops and more. A major challenge that many Compass families face in finding employment is citizenship status. Many families are undocumented and do not qualify for employment in the traditional workplace. Compass is exploring ways to support undocumented families in finding stable work via various creative strategies, such as helping parents acquire Right to Work documents or supporting alternative employment pathways, such as entrepreneurship. C-WORK Equity Pilot for Black Families In June 2021, Compass was awarded a $300,000 grant from San Francisco’s Office of Employment and Workforce Development to provide workforce development services and address disparities in employment and housing for low-income Black families in San Francisco. According to the 2019 Point-in-Time Count of homeless individuals in San Francisco, despite comprising only 6% of the overall population, Black or African Americans made up 37% of those identified as homeless. The C-WORK Equity Pilot for Black Families aims to remove barriers to employment and increase wages for San Francisco’s Black families by hiring staff with deep connections to Black communities to provide significant focused outreach and support to Black community members, ensure culturally-responsive workforce development services, and build relationships with Black-owned businesses.

Supporting Compass Families in Many Ways When the COVID-19 crisis began, many of our corporate supporters reached out to help with additional funding and emergency supplies. Bank of America was one of these incredible supporters and reached out in our time of need with a generous donation for our annual holiday project, Adopt-a-Family, which provides homeless and at-risk families with gifts for the holidays. Bank of America Employees participate in Compass' Adopt-a-Family during the holidays Bank of America also delivered cases of hand sanitizer and thousands of masks, face shields, and gloves. This was all in addition to their annual grant to support Compass’ comprehensive programs providing housing, shelter, childcare, mental health services, and employment services to families experiencing homelessness. Bank of America’s combined grant and in-kind donations in 2020 had a total value of $100,000! Compass students enjoy Bank of America’s Kids Take the Field Day with the San Francisco Giants Over the last two decades and in addition to funding support, Bank of America employees have given back to the local community through volunteering at Compass programs. In 2016, Compass Family Services was awarded their Neighborhood Builder Award that provided $200,000 in program support. Bank of America employees volunteer to design and paint a mural at Compass housing programs. We are proud and grateful to partner with Bank of America in our work to end family homelessness in San Francisco.

This holiday season, Compass Family Services partnered with Broadway SF, part of the Ambassador Theatre Group, for the 5-time Tony Award-winning production of A Christmas Carol playing at the Golden Gate Theatre from November 26 to December 26, 2021*. At each performance of A Christmas Carol , audience members were encouraged to donate generously to Compass Family Services by Scrooge. Compass volunteers and staff collected the donations in top hats at the door. Together, we raised more than $140,000 to support Compass programs , providing temporary shelter, childcare, therapy, employment services, food support, and other essential needs to more than 6,500 homeless and at-risk children and parents each year. In addition, members of the A Christmas Carol company, BroadwaySF staff, and others further engaged with Compass by reading to the children at Compass Children’s Center, our early education facility for children ages 0-5, and participating in our 24th annual Adopt-a-Family program, fulfilling holiday wishlists for two families in need. BroadwaySF's 'A Christmas Carol' embraces generosity on and off stage on ABC7's Localish “Charles Dickens’ timeless – and timely – tale of isolation and redemption will lift everyone’s spirits”, stated BroadwaySF Managing Director Rainier Koeners. “And in this season of giving – when even Scrooge, himself, is transformed, we couldn’t think of a better recipient for our audience’s generosity as Compass Family Services has long been the gold-standard for providing families with the services they need to combat homelessness and food insecurity.” “Many of the homeless and at-risk families we serve were greatly impacted by the pandemic and still struggle with unpaid back-rent, loss of wages and lack of access to food, healthcare and other essential resources. We are so grateful for this incredible partnership with Broadway SF to inspire generosity and help our community’s most vulnerable children and parents on their long road to recovery” stated Erica Kisch, Executive Director of Compass Family Services. This wonderful partnership between Compass Family Services and Broadway SF will help Compass create lasting positive outcomes for homeless and at-risk families this holiday season and well beyond it. We are so grateful for this amazing support! A special thanks to Compass staff and volunteers, the A Christmas Carol company and Broadway SF staff, Scott, Aaron, and Kathy for making this possible! *Unfortunately, the final six performances were cancelled due to COVID cases in cast and crew.

The 2021 holiday season was filled with inspiring and generous support for Compass families. In the 24th year of Compass' Adopt-a-Family program, we connected over 470 individuals, families, friends and corporate teams with 560 families in need . Last week, many families picked up their gifts and are full of joy and gratitude for this wonderful support from our community. Many of the gifts our families receive through Compass’ Adopt-a-Family program includes toys, clothing, hygiene items, kitchen appliances, household items, Clipper cards, grocery gift cards and more. Families also receive gift certificates to experiences that they can enjoy year round, such as tickets to the aquarium or a gift card to Olive Garden for a nice family dinner. Oftentimes donors are also able to fulfill significant needs for a family, such as helping a family recently housed through Compass programs, to furnish their empty apartment with beds, sofas, rugs and other furniture. Last year, many Compass families owed significant amounts of back rent debt and Adopt-a-Family donors raised over $400,000 to help families stay housed during the pandemic. For many families experiencing homelessness or extreme poverty, the holidays may resurface trauma or complicated emotions. Thanks to our generous community of donors, volunteers and staff, Compass’ Adopt-a-Family program will provide families with not only gifts but also joy and happiness during the holiday season. Thank you to our amazing community of donors, volunteers and staff for making the holidays merry and bright for Compass families! If you missed out on participating and are looking forward to the 2022 holiday season, please make sure you’re on our email list for events and updates! SUBSCRIBE HERE .

Meet Trista! 👋 Trista is a Rental Subsidy Case Manager at Compass’ SF HOME program which promotes long-term housing stability through housing search assistance, rental subsidies, case management, and one-time financial assistance to cover rent for families at risk of eviction, as well as, security deposits and first month's rent. Trista is a hard-working, smart, and a deeply compassionate case manager. During the pandemic, she played a vital role in removing barriers for client families and providing support with housing and other services, such as food, job search, benefit applications and more. She fiercely advocates for her client families to access services and has successfully helped families acquire permanent supportive housing. Permanent supportive housing units are an important resource for Compass families, many who are low income, since these units only charge a percentage of the household income as rent instead of a flat rate. Many of the families we serve are greatly affected by the pandemic and lost employment and wages while struggling with childcare and healthcare concerns. Affordable and stable housing is key to helping families stay safe emotionally and physically as we recover from this crisis. Thank you so much, Trista!

Meet Rina! 👋 Rina is a Machine Learning Researcher at LinkedIn and came to Compass as a volunteer, offering statistics and data analysis support for our Impact + Learning team. Compass’ Impact + Learning team gathers and analyzes data and trends around Compass’ program services and offers insights and guidance to improve service delivery and the experience of our client families. Rina supports these efforts by performing complex statistical analysis on our housing and income data to look for racial and ethnic disparities and has been doing a new analysis every few weeks for over 6 months. We appreciate her specialized skills in providing important information for Compass and thinking with our team what the story behind the data is telling us. Thank you, Rina, for applying your incredible skills and knowledge to help us better support Compass families!

Thanks to the generosity of our incredible community of supporters, we raised over $510,000 during our HOME 2021 live program to ensure that Compass' services will be here for San Francisco’s homeless and vulnerable families for as long as they're needed. Funds raised through the Housing. Support. Hope. Campaign will support three key initiatives: the creation of a permanent home for Compass at 37 Grove Street; the launch of new, innovative and expanded programs including emergency COVID response initiatives; and the ongoing delivery of Compass’ essential support services. Meet some of our families and learn about how Compass is supporting their journey to stability. A special thanks to our incredible Spring Event Leadership Committee — Christine Leong Conners, Chad Dyer, Alison Engel, Beth Roy Jenkyn, Lauren Kowal Thank You to our generous HOME 2021 Event Sponsors $25,000 BlackRock JPMorgan Chase & Co Salesforce Kaiser Permanente Freddy and Sara Kerrest Keen Litman Gregory Asset Management ​Qatalyst Partners ​S.C. Johnson & Son Sutter Health Twitter Visa Diane B. Wilsey Zendesk ​ $10,000 Verizon Bank of America Dalana Brand First Republic Bank Comerica Redwood Credit Union ​ $5,000 Cathay Bank Carolyn and Chris Colpitts Meyers + Engineers Anne and Michael Parish Union Bank ​ $2,500 Lanier Coles Dana Corvin and Harris Weinberg Creative Planning Dennis Gibbons and Lisa Erdberg Kerry and Sean Honey Marylou Karp Lauren and Andrew Kowal Stacy and Michael McCarthy Leslie and Nick Podell Sobia and Nadir Shaikh Chris and Karen Wagner Ken Whiting and Nicole DeAvilla ​

With generous support from the Wells Fargo Foundation, we are launching a monthly Universal Basic Income Pilot to support Compass families. The economic hardships of families experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity during the COVID-19 crisis have been extreme. Compass families lost an average of 40% of their income at the start of the pandemic. The road towards financial recovery continues today with many parents still struggling to find work in their field or unable to work due to childcare needs. A new grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation will enable Compass to study the impact of universal basic income for 13 low-income families with children currently enrolled in Compass Children’s Center. The payments will be $350 per month for six months. Although this pilot program will be modest, resulting in a total of $2,100 per family, we know that any increase in income is likely to produce real benefits for the children and parents we serve. We hope that the results will show an overall improvement in family stability over the pilot period. “We will explore how families utilize this resource and if receiving guaranteed income may lead to increased opportunities in terms of employment, self-determination, goal-setting, and financial literacy,” says Erica Kisch, Compass Executive Director. Participating families will be assessed at the start, middle and end of the program by the Compass Children’s Center’s Clinical Coordinator. Evaluations will assess each family using Compass’ Family Assessment Matrix (FAM) which includes gauges of employment, housing, child well-being, mental health and wellness. Families will also complete surveys at the beginning of the program about how they plan to use the funds and again at the end to understand how they ended up using them. Families will also provide additional information and feedback about their experiences. A control group of non-participating families will also be assessed to help identify any impacts that are specifically from the increased income as opposed to any other variables. The Clinical Coordinator will also follow up with families six months after the pilot’s end to determine if any benefits to family stability have been sustained. “We expect that families will show modest improvement in their financial health, like increasing their savings, reducing debt, acquiring a bank account, increasing their earned income, completing a budget, and participating in financial coaching,” says Kisch. “We are very grateful for Wells Fargo to be providing this direct resource to families and helping us study the benefits of Universal Basic Income.” Compass Children's Center serves some of San Francisco's most vulnerable families -- those who have experienced homelessness and/or are very low-income. 100% of children enrolled at Compass Children's Center qualify for subsidies through Early Learning San Francisco based on their household income and family size. Many families, including both parents and their children, have experienced high levels of trauma related to poverty, homelessness, and housing and food insecurity. The program will start in September with payments distributed from October through March.