Compass Community Center

They only take care of young Trans people i remember the 80s when all my family and friends died wish went with them because nobody cares that we are still here

To stand today inside Compass Community Center, receiving thoughtful, competent care through CAN Community Health—while those same Quilt panels are displayed nearby—feels like a long arc bending toward dignity. The work wasn’t abstract. It was personal. It still is. If you want a caption that bridges then and now, here’s one that does it honestly: ⸻ From my walk—then and now. In the early ’90s, I helped organize and exhibit panels from the AIDS Memorial Quilt at AIDS Walks. We carried names, stories, and grief on fabric because so much else had already been lost. Today, after my appointment, I stood with those panels again—this time inside a community health space offering real care, respect, and follow-through. Progress doesn’t erase the pain of what came before. It carries it forward—and does better by it. For those we lost. For those still here.

Great place, friendly staff and welcoming environment!

I’ve been with Compass for years! But this year I received a new Case Manager! From the beginning Cassandra made me feel so much love. Cassandra was understanding and compassionate! I’ve had several Case Managers never felt this much love before. I was down but Cassandra definitely made me understand there’s life after sadness! Thank you Raymond for assigning me Cassandra! Raymond is AWESOME as well very patient!

Hi! My name is Jasper and I recently aged out of the youth groups after going since I was 15 and I wanted to write my personal story/how compass has helped me over the years as I transition to entourage and eventually age out completely. I first discovered Compass early 2022 when they were starting to transition back to fully in person groups, as 2021-2022 we were still wearing masks and we were just beginning to integrate back into “normality” from COVID-19 procedures. I was at the second half of my freshman year at the time, and my first experience with compass before I came into an in person group was me and my best friend coming when we didn’t realize it was a virtual group. But we sat there and chilled, kind of got a vibe of the place. I had gotten a recommendation to check out Compass from an organization I was volunteering from at the time, and with Susan Foley’s recommendation I discovered the place. After that virtual meeting, I didn’t go to compass for a few more months. I started going to Compass again June of 2022, going to my first trans group meeting where I met some of my now best friends. I was very shy when I first started going, but got more comfortable the more I went. 2022 right before school started they had an event, and that’s where I met my now best friend who’s family became a family to mine and over time I just felt more comfortable with my identity because of Compass. I was able to get free therapy here, and find an outlet for my confusing emotions. And you’re probably wondering: if I went here all of high school and got positive results as a person from Compass why are you only rating it four stars? I’ll tell you why. As much as I have loved Compass and have found a place in my community, there were a few issues I have had (partially my own fault) that made me feel bad sometimes. 1) The staff. I’m not naming any specific staff, but there is one group leader who was and is a bit much. They don’t know boundaries with the youth, and make jokes that aren’t necessarily really relevant/appropriate to the conversation. I’m not saying they’ve said anything *weird* in that sense, but you get what I mean. I already talked to a higher up staff member about it, but it’s still something that made my group experience a little bit less enjoyable. 2) The failure to step into conflict with youth until it gets severe. 3) The sudden changing of the youth group ages. I personally do not believe that 18 year olds should be able to be with 20+ year olds in a social group. If they are still in high school, they should be with the high school aged kids. I was always told that you would be able to stay in the youth group until you’re 19, but they suddenly changed it. But it’s confusing because they still say their group is “14-18” etc on their calendars and they haven’t changed the age to 17 yet. So it makes me feel like they pick and choose who’s allowed to stay after they age out, and that’s not right at all. But even with these issues, I still love Compass. And don’t take my personal issues and say “this place isn’t good for my kids” it can be great for them. There are methods of how they run the youth group that I don’t like or agree with, but I still enjoyed my time at Compass. 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️

Had one of the worst STD testing experiences of my life here. Went in for a standard STD test, tested for everything, including HIV, and the man who drew my blood waited an entire hour to give me my negative HIV results. He kept looking at the rapid HIV test to see if it would change from negative to positive. He asked me the long list of questions when someone typically comes into contact with someone who is HIV positive. I went into my chart online and found out that he documented that I stated I had come into contact with someone who was HIV positive. I have never had sex with an HIV positive partner. At the end of the visit, he told me I needed to come back in 2 weeks to make sure my test wasn’t a false negative. Unreal.