“I can’t imagine any work accomplishment in my life I’m more proud of than being a part of this project.”
As Compass Point Village nears its first anniversary, I spoke with our Housing Services Director, Jenny Moffatt, to learn about her experience managing the project and how our residents’ lives have changed over the past year. Jenny has been with Homeward Bound for almost 9 years and started as our very first Housing Specialist.
What’s been your personal experience with Compass Point Village since it opened, and how would you say it’s changed throughout the year as we approach the first anniversary?
My role with Compass Point Village has shifted from focusing on getting it built and opened for 18 months to now focusing more on the resident experience. I’m looking at questions like, ‘How are tenants settling into their new homes? What services are they using the most, and what might we want to add? Are we helping residents build community and friendships?’
While the planning, interior design work, and fundraising tours were exciting before opening, the season we are in now is what I was waiting for—being able to see folks who’ve been outside for 5, 10, 15 years finally having a home and getting to share in their journey to stability.
We want to keep making additions and adjustments to our services to continue improving how residents feel best supported by our case management team.
Is there a specific moment or event that occurred at Compass Point Village over the year that’s stayed with you, or an experience with a client that stands out?
There are a few that stand out. First, I would say the grand opening event was such an amazing moment for me. After spending almost two years working on the project, which had many setbacks, it was just surreal to see the property filled with people celebrating this huge accomplishment for our community. It was a really special day.
All the firsts have stood out: the first lease signing, first Thanksgiving dinner, first Christmas carol singalong, first cookout, and first monthly birthday celebration—all of these were super sweet moments I’ll hold onto for a long time.
For sure, a few client moments stand out as well. Those first few weeks watching residents bursting with pride to show me how they decorated their apartments were real tear-filled moments for me.
Watching one client in particular, Ed, who had no friends or community when he moved in, go from sitting in the courtyard alone to being encircled by new friends, both Homeward Bound staff and residents, seeing him relax and enjoy the new community—those are true stand-out memories for me. I really can’t imagine any work accomplishment in my life I could be more proud of than being a part of this project.
How would you say Homeward Bound has been able to overcome challenges to our mission? Despite negative narratives and stigma, how are we able to keep pushing forward with the work we know is worth the effort?
You know, life is full of challenges for all of us, and so entering into this project, we knew that we would encounter some bumps along the way. Early on in the construction phase, it seemed like we just could not get a break with how much repair work had to be done to the infrastructure around utilities.
Tearing out drywall to find we needed to completely replace all the electrical work in two buildings, to learning late in the game that we now had to dig up and replace the entire main water line throughout the entire property, which set back our opening date.
Through all of this, we just kept focusing on the finish line, knowing how many lives would be changed by this project. We also had an amazing construction, architecture, and development team, and we just had to laugh a lot and not let anything get in our way.
In the past year since we’ve opened, there have been new and different challenges—helping residents relearn how to take care of their homes and how to be a good neighbor, working through challenging behaviors with folks who are struggling with mental health. Some days are loud, and it feels hard and heavy watching folks struggle with their past trauma and stories that got them to this point.
But ultimately, we like to focus on the positive! We celebrate the steps (sometimes just baby steps) residents are taking to improve their lives. They’re celebrating new jobs, winning disability cases, finally getting the medical care they need, and watching a community being built. We focus on these changes and celebrations versus the challenges.