Search Results

Blandine is a superstar! She started with Compass in February of 2019 with a focus on helping us with our social media and marketing initiatives. Blandine always brings a can-do attitude and fresh ideas to the table. She came to us when we were implementing many changes to our web presence and played a vital role in negotiating better rates for our online platforms and the creation of our volunteer toolkit web pages. Blandine wears many hats, and is also a familiar face for staff, client families, and donors at our annual events, such as Toast and Taste, Spring Benefit and Twitter Holiday Party. Since shelter in place began, Blandine really stepped up to the plate in helping us with our crisis response efforts and assisted with marketing and advertising our COVID-19 Emergency Family Care Kit Initiative which allowed us to provide digital gift cards for groceries and other household necessities to over 600 families. We are so grateful for Blandine’s marketing expertise, diligence and positive attitude! We cannot thank you enough!

We were so lucky to have such amazing interns from a variety of high schools and colleges this summer. These dedicated young achievers worked with Compass staff members in the Compass Family Shelter, Development team and Policy team to further our mission to end family homelessness in San Francisco. We are so grateful for their support and dedication to the homeless and at-risk families we serve and are excited to see what they will achieve in the future! Read more about their accomplishments during their time at Compass Family Services below. Keishi Foecke Hi everyone! My name is Keishi (pronounced Kay-shee). I’m an incoming senior at Washington University in St. Louis where I’m studying Anthropology and American Culture Studies, but I’m a Bay Area native and went to high school just a few blocks from Compass’s 37 Grove Street office. I’m also beginning my Master of Public Health degree this fall, and am particularly interested in the intersection of health and homelessness. For fun, I love to play soccer, read, hike, and (in non-COVID times) explore the Bay’s food and coffee scenes. During my internship with Compass, I split my time working at Compass Family Shelter and supporting the Development team with grant research and writing. I helped enroll a number of children at the Family Shelter in summer camps, as well as provided summer enrichment activities for those who were not attending camps. With the Development team, I helped create grant FAQs that make the answers to common grant questions easily accessible, did some research on the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on family homelessness in San Francisco, and helped build out the 2021 fiscal year grant calendar. I especially appreciated the opportunity to work with two different yet equally incredible teams, getting a clearer sense of the behind-the-scenes of a nonprofit from both the direct service and administrative perspectives. My internship at Compass taught me so much about the various collaborations that occur to holistically support unhoused families, as well as about the landscape of nonprofit and governmental stakeholders who are working together to end homelessness in San Francisco. Luis Flores Hello, my name is Luis Flores and I live in Los Angeles. I am a rising senior (and proud first generation student!) at Dartmouth College majoring in Latin American Studies. In my free time, I enjoy reading, keeping up with baseball, and learning new things. During my time at Compass, I had the opportunity to learn about the scale of family homelessness and research the primary drivers leaving families without a safe and stable home. In doing so, I increased my understanding of the necessary collaboration required between community-based organizations and government. Working alongside the highly motivated Compass staff for ten weeks has been a transformative experience that has further enforced my passion for tackling socioeconomic inequalities. Thank you, Compass, for having me aboard! Pulkit Nagpal Hello, everyone! My name is Pulkit Nagpal and I am a rising sophomore at Dartmouth College. I currently live in Connecticut, but have spent years in India, the Cleveland area, and Puerto Rico. My interests are diverse and along the lines of economics, computer science, and medicine, but I am not too sure what I want to do yet; nevertheless, I have a passion for service and am involved with my school’s center for social impact as a mentor to high school students at under-resourced high schools, a non-profit consulting project participant, and a spring break service trip member to Puerto Rico. Outside of this, I can be seen playing basketball, making origami, or attending events around campus. This summer, I interned with the Development team, working on webpage edits, website data tracking, and iWave, a donor platform. To do this work to the best of my ability, I first learned new marketing strategies from a textbook and online resources and invested time into understanding the scope of homelessness in San Francisco through any kind of media I could access: webinars hosted by the SF Chronicle, presentations from non-profit staff, and Evicted , a study by Matthew Desmond following eight tenants’ struggle with homelessness in Milwaukee. Once I had established context, I had tremendous support from the staff in the Development team and met regularly with Abbey Leonard, my supervisor, as I did my work. I spent most of my time on SquareSpace, Canva, and Google Analytics trying to optimize web content, aesthetic, flow, and structure; I even learned some CSS coding on the side. Despite a virtual experience, I felt very connected to Compass and had the amazing opportunity to sit in many kinds of meetings and received a one-week tour of Compass’ programs. All of that really made me appreciate how a non-profit functions as well as how the mission of one remains the same despite the circumstance. Isleen Justo Hello, my name is Isleen Justo. I live in San Francisco and will be a senior at Mercy High School Burlingame this fall. I love to paint, read, binge watch Netflix, and spend time with my family. A fun fact about me is that I have a twin sister. This summer was very different, given the circumstances of the pandemic. I had the opportunity to intern “virtually” at Compass Family Services. My supervisor, Karin, was extremely welcoming and east to talk to and answered any questions I had. I worked closely with her on the Phone-a-Friend project, which provided Compass children with a teenage buddy to talk to during these tough times where they are missing their friends. Calling the families and volunteers, I learned to keep all of their information organized and I stepped out of my comfort zone by calling strangers on the phone. I spent time reorganizing spreadsheets with the participants’ information to make it easier for my supervisor and anyone else to read. Attending weekly team development meetings, I saw how the Compass staff worked together to problem-solve and to update each other on recent events. Besides working on the Phone-a-Friend program, I had to come up with a list of school supplies that kids might need for remote back-to-school, and researched different kinds of headphones they could give to their kids. I went on a virtual passport tour, where each day for a week other interns, new employees, and I joined Zoom called where we learned about one or two of the nine programs that Compass offers through the program directors. I was extremely inspired by the dedication and work done by the Compass staff to serve their clients.

Congratulations to our Employee of the Month! We are proud to announce our Employee of the Month - Brenna Monaghan Brenna is the Impact Analyst at Compass Family Services and keeps our client family database running smoothly on a daily basis. She doesn't shy away from a challenge and is always ready to jump in and lend a hand, regardless of how small or large, complex or simple, exciting or routine the task. She will work tirelessly to ensure that her colleagues feel supported and have what they need to work better and smarter. Brenna is approachable and makes coworkers feel at ease around tricky technical database issues. As one colleague notes, "I can always count on Brenna to be real and give an honest and thoughtful response to my questions and ideas, no matter how strange or half-baked they may be. Brenna made me feel immediately welcomed when I started at Compass and has continued to help me feel connected and an integral part of the team, especially during Shelter-in-Place!" Thank you Brenna for all you do to keep us going every day - we appreciate you!

Our Heroes Need Help 2020 has taken its toll on everyone in many different ways. For San Francisco restaurants, it’s been undeniably devastating. We wanted to remind everyone about our good friends and heroes who make up the fine-dining association, San Francisco Private Dining Venues, or SFPDV. Last month we would have celebrated in style at the 6th annual Toast & Taste foodie event of the year. It was set to be held at TableTop Tap House. Toast & Taste is hosted by SFPDV and over the last five years, they’ve raised more than $214,000 to fund our work to end family homelessness. See Highlight’s From Last Years Event! Toast & Taste is no easy event! It’s organized by the private dining managers of the 40 plus member restaurants. They all come together to plan everything from the food that will be presented and served at tables, the tasty bites making their way through the crowds on trays, all of the drinks, the decorations, the VIP section, the fun games, the hilarious photo booth, the music, and the silent auction that boasts the best adventure packages and dining deals in town. We’ve become very close over the years and many of the private dining managers have reached out to help us throughout the year. Le Colonial started hosting a Mother’s Day Brunch for families in our residential programs, Credo has donated proceeds to Compass with their nonprofit partnership program and they, along with Fogo de Chao, donated hundreds of meals to our families during Shelter-in-Place before they shut down temporarily, Epic Steak donated brand new outdoor grills to us a few years ago and they’re in use now at our family shelter, Original Joe’s provided a table of appetizers for our Adopt-a-Family kick off party last year, Palio held a toy drive during the holidays for Compass children, and the employees at Prospect all pitched in and provided hundreds of dollars in gift cards for families also during the holidays. We’d hoped September would be a reopening, at least limited, for our dear friends. Some are busy with take-out and delivery orders, but many have to remain closed still today. And sadly, some have closed for good. Please join us to help our heroes by choosing our friends, below, for your next delivery or take-out order or to purchase gift cards for yourself or friends and family for when they are able to open. And please share this story with your networks. Give our local restaurant partners some love!

Adrianna and her family gets fully furnished apartment thanks to Zendesk Adrianna, a native San Franciscan, and her two daughters were left homeless after she lost her job of five years. They had turned to family and friends, but there was no place to stay except their car. She was pregnant and the baby was coming soon. After a friend suggested she call Compass Family Services, things started to fall into place and just in time. Her case manager, Montez, kept in touch as Adrianna went into labor. Montez was able to help the family qualify for a housing subsidy and they went straight from the hospital with their new son to their new apartment in Vallejo. However, they didn’t have any furniture at all. The Compass Development team was already talking with our friends at Zendesk who had a one-bedroom apartment fully furnished and they were hoping to donate everything inside to a Compass family. And that’s when the two came together! Zendesk hired movers to load everything up and deliver to Adrianna’s new home. The family received a couch, a table and chairs, a bed, kitchenware, and even lava lamps and beautiful artwork for walls. They still needed two additional beds so Compass staffer, Kris Otridge, along with her daughter, Kelsey, donated their bedroom furniture to finish it all out. All of us at Compass were so excited to make this happen for this loving family. The team at Zendesk were thrilled to know the family is happy with their donation. And special thanks to Kris and Kelsey for their sweet contribution to two very happy daughters with a new bedroom.

We wouldn’t be able to do this work without you! Adam and Jenn let us know early in the pandemic that they were ready to help in any way we needed. Shelter-in-place caused a dramatic shift in when and how we are able to provide the many comprehensive services we offer to families, but also activated us to provide services we usually didn’t. Food insecurity was immediate and providing groceries was at the top of that list of new services. Adam and Jenn helped transform the waiting room area at our 37 Grove Services Hub into a makeshift grocery store. Our SF HOME team made runs to the food bank twice a week and Adam and Jenn organized and pre-bagged groceries for families. Over the last six months this volunteer duty has grown a lot. The Compass food pantry is moving $20,000 a month of groceries to families and $2,500 a month of diapers and wipes. Adam and Jenn helped make this possible. When Compass was able to resume accepting item donations, Adam and Jenn were also there to help receive them as well as sort and organize everything. More than 40 car loads of donations that include adult and baby clothing, hygiene items, furniture, and kitchen and household items have been received. Many of these donations are distributed to families coming in for drop-in services. A large amount of donations are sorted and organized by volunteers into custom packages for case managers deliver to families who live further out in East Bay communities. Thank you Adam and Jenn for your many hours of volunteering and helping Compass families during this difficult time!

Case Manager Appreciation Week October 11th - 17th Since the first day of San Francisco’s shelter-in-place order, Compass Case Managers, like Christina Castillo, have gone above and beyond to ensure Compass families are safe and supported. In the beginning of this crisis we faced countless unknowns, including any insight into just how hard things could get. Nevertheless, the Compass SF HOME team jumped in their cars, grabbed their masks, and made deliveries of food, diapers, school supplies, and laptops to their families. Deliveries are made for families who live as far away as Stockton and Sacramento and as close as Sunnydale and the Tenderloin. Anytime a SF HOME family has a barrier to accessing Compass's Drop-in Services, such as after giving birth, transportation barriers, or physical disability, SF HOME Case Managers will deliver the food and diapers right to their doorsteps. Although phone calls, zoom meetings, and emails have allowed Compass Case Managers to keep in close contact with their families, sometimes it is just not enough, especially for families who are in greater crisis. When needed, Compass Case Managers will personally drive to clients' homes to check in on them face-to-face from a safe, social distance. Christina took the lead in ensuring that SF HOME Case Managers made two trips to the SF FOOD bank weekly, purchasing food for roughly 300 families a week. Christina also requested a monthly budget so she could go purchase dairy items for families so they wouldn’t have to spend their limited income on milk, butter, and cheese. Christina, Thank you. You and your team are heroes! Here's a video of Compass front-line heroes in action!

Congratulations to our Employee of the month! We are proud to announce our Employee of the Month - Maselino Moli Maselino has excelled in his role as the Janitor at Compass Family Shelter from day one and has efficiently and effectively supported both the shelter team and the families in the program. Maselino has strong mastery over the complexities of his role. He has consistently advocated for shelter improvements, from the quality of the products we order to keeping our spaces safe, clean and organized to regularly attending meetings, trainings and workshops that strengthens his commitment to Compass’ mission. As we have all struggled to maintain a safe residential program during the prolonged COVID crisis, Maselino has been instrumental in helping to keep staff and families safe. Maselino is always available to help with food deliveries to rooms, wellness checks, family exits, and room inspections, and provides support and comfort to our otherwise all-female staff in more complex and potentially dangerous situations. We truly appreciate the holistic approach Maselino has taken since joining our shelter team in terms of custodial, maintenance and client support, and we appreciate that Maselino always goes above and beyond in his work. Thank you so much Maselino for all you do to keep us going every day - we appreciate you!

Dear supporters, With so much at stake in the November 3 election—and so many ballot propositions to read up on!—we at Compass Family Services would love to share what’s at stake for our families on the San Francisco ballot. Which measures will help create deeply affordable housing and lasting pathways out of homelessness? Which measures will unlock game-changing revenue streams and support essential nonprofit workers in the homeless response system? Which measures will help address structural racism related to affordable housing? Read on to find out. Compass Family Services’ 2020 Endorsements for the San Francisco Ballot PROPOSITION K: YES Affordable Housing Authorization Prop K authorizes the City and County to own, develop, construct, acquire, and/or rehabilitate up to 10,000 units of affordable rental housing. This could significantly expand the housing options available to Compass families and improve their housing stability over the long term. It is important to note the reason why Prop K is on the ballot: Article 34 of the California Constitution requires voter approval before a jurisdiction can develop public housing. Article 34 blocked low-income housing creation for decades, driving discrimination and displacement impacting communities of color. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has called it “a white supremacist chapter in the state’s history,” though Article 34 remains on the books despite a few attempts to repeal it over the years. This November, San Francisco voters have the opportunity to vote YES on K and remove a barrier to affordable housing creation rooted in structural racism. PROPOSITION A: YES Health and Homelessness, Parks, and Streets Bond Prop A is a general obligation bond for health and recovery, not to exceed $487.5 million. It would finance acquisitions and improvements of real property that would directly benefit Compass families, including: $239 million for parks and open space; $147 million for permanent supportive housing, transitional housing, and shelters; $60 million for programs providing mental health and substance use support; and $42 million for our streets. During the COVID-19 pandemic especially, Prop A will promote equitable access to open space—and in doing so, provide safe opportunities to socialize outside—in and around many of the neighborhoods where Compass families live, from SOMA to the Bayview. It will also create jobs and facilitate the city’s economic recovery. The new debt would be taken on as existing debt is retired. A Yes on A is a yes for Compass families. PROPOSITION F: YES Business Tax Overhaul Prop F would complete San Francisco’s years-long transition from a payroll tax to a gross receipts tax (a reform decided by voters in 2012). There are winners and losers in any tax reform, but Prop F would generate $97 million more revenue annually and provide hundreds of millions of public dollars for homelessness and childcare, which could make all the difference for homeless and at-risk families in the aftermath of the pandemic. Prop F represents an important compromise as San Francisco charts the course toward economic recovery: it would raise tax rates for many companies, but it would delay rate increases and provide much-needed relief for small businesses and specific industries hit hard by the shutdown (industries that traditionally employ low-wage workers and Compass parents). Critically, Prop F would also generate one-time funding that the Board of Supervisors has allocated for emergency nonprofit relief, including a temporary wage increase for the lowest-paid nonprofit workers providing homeless services. A YES on F strikes the right balance for Compass and our families, who need targeted funding and support to get safely to the other side of the pandemic. Compass extends a heartfelt thanks to all our supporters for remembering our families when you vote.

We wouldn't be able to do this work without you! Ken has been a big hero for Compass during the pandemic. When we needed someone to deliver meals to Compass Family Shelter, he said “yes!” That may not sound that complicated, but it’s a big job. Every Thursday and Friday Ken picks up delicious, donated meals from Nybill catering in Oakland and drives them over the bridge to our shelter in the Tenderloin and hand delivers inside to the front desk - and then drives back to his home in Oakland. That’s a lot to ask in a volunteer and he’s done this week after week with dedication. Ken has a truck. Anyone with a truck knows you get asked to haul things for friends. And Ken has done just that for Compass in addition to the meal deliveries twice a week. We are all very grateful for Ken and his very humble volunteer service to help Compass staff and families. Thank you Ken for your many hours of volunteering and helping Compass families during this difficult time!