Market Street History

by Sadie Hess

Sentimental

Man, do I hate moving!  It is always quite depressing to see the items you have accumulated over a short period of time.  I happen to be a very emotional person, so there are usually a few boxes (yes, I said boxes!) of items labeled “sentimental”.  And my Compass life is no different!

I remain so grateful for the journey of Compass that I like to collect pieces of it along the way.  I want reminders of where of I have come from and where we are going together.  I want these precious memories captured in pictures and videos and nick knacks.

Moving Back

So, I am so excited to share we are moving back into a piece of my past.  Compass’ new headquarters are going to be located in the very place that the idea of Compass was born!   It sounds crazy, but it’s true.   I was a social worker with Joanne (my co-founder) in an office building downtown working for a nonprofit.  They made the fateful decision to stop offering Supported Living Services to its clients.  Because of this, we decided to launch our own company.  That building was the back drop of our adventure, as we went down the staircase singing the “mission impossible” theme music planning the craziest and most exciting adventure of my life.  We plotted out a place where staff would be valued, client’s dreams would be our focus, and destiny would be the goal for all.

Compass Home

I cannot believe 21 years later we will be going back to that very building and setting it up as our Compass home.  We have spent the last six months renovating it and getting it ready for our team.  We essentially knocked out every wall in the building but two:  two offices remain as they were when I was there 21 years ago.  Office #1 is the room I discovered they were going to close the program.  They gave notice to close Supported Living, a program I had been grafted to in such a personal way.  I discovered they were going to throw away the services I loved.

Walking Out Destiny

Office #2 is the room where I confronted my fears.  The executive director called me in and told me in no uncertain terms that I had no idea what I was doing and could never make the service work. She told me I had no concept of how hard it was and that my small agency would never survive.  I looked her in the eye but saw my own fear and faced it down.  This office will now be my office as a reminder of facing fears and walking out destiny.

History and Blessing

I feel such a profound sense of history and blessing.   I love that my past becomes a piece of our future.   I look forward to all of the new sentimental boxes I get to fill in this place.  I hope you come see where the dream began and where the dreams continue to get lived out daily.