A case example of the team's work by Sara Alkire

Community Responder talks about the people COMPASS serves—often encountered through police or outreach—how some feel invisible and want to feel seen and respected. COMPASS aims to consistently show up, offer unconditional support, and treat setbacks in substance use or mental health recovery as part of the journey, responding with grace rather than judgment and helping people have better experiences when connecting to services. Sarah describes how COMPASS has evolved, building strong working relationships with police, dispatch, and first responders. What began with doubt has grown into trust and hope, with responders now recognizing the need and calling COMPASS to help.