Compass Rose is a supportive living program that bridges gaps of opportunity for foster young adults aging out of DHS care. Its clinical, housing, and peer mentor teams collaborate on person-led action plans where the youth can be the main voice in deciding what their independence looks like. Learn more about Compass Rose on our Peer Programs Page.
“Bart” came to Compass Rose with a documented diagnosis of borderline personality disorder (BPD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), although they did not agree or identify with the BPD diagnosis. Initially, Bart transitioned easily into the program and was making good progress.
Later, Bart began struggling with relationships with Compass Rose team members and engaging in patterns characteristic of BPD, as well as substance use, depression and isolation. Eventually, with the support of the team, Bart began to understand and accept their BPD diagnosis and how patterns presented in their everyday life. This included the team consistently encouraging Bart to engage in healthy conflict, express their needs and boundaries, and ultimately build meaningful relationships both in the program and the community. This helped Bart better engage with the team and develop healthy relationships, make a plan to maintain sobriety, stay consistent with medications, and build coping skills to use in challenging times.
Bart decided to leave Compass Rose to live with their chosen family, but didn’t leave unprepared. Thanks to the guidance of Compass Rose team members, Bart was equipped with a plan for managing relationships with their chosen family (which had previously been a challenge), maintain sobriety, and continue to build positive relationships to fulfill their life-long desire of having a family. Bart admitted they were tempted to leave the program without telling the team, but instead chose to notify their entire team and work with them to make a plan for a successful discharge.
Thanks to the guidance of Compass Rose team members, Bart was equipped with a plan for managing relationships with their chosen family (which had previously been a challenge), maintain sobriety, and continue to build positive relationships to fulfill their life-long desire of having a family.
Bart had mentioned many times how hard goodbyes are for them. Despite attempts to dodge team members and leave without a goodbye, they engaged in a meaningful farewell with each one of their support team members. Bart has since moved on and is working on building their family elsewhere, and the Compass Rose Team is excited to see what comes next for Bart!
We don’t often get to see the results of the seeds we’ve planted in our work with participants. Even though this is just a small glimpse of the changes Bart was able to make through their time with Compass Rose, it is a big step for them in defining how they choose to live their life.
Special note: as of September 6, New Narrative opened a new 15-unit apartment building, christened Mitchell Street Apartments, for exclusive use by Compass Rose participants! Each participant has their own apartment. This gives them privacy and cuts down on interpersonal conflicts that often happen in shared living spaces. These apartments are fully furnished and the participants are loving their new spaces! If you would like to get involved in donating to New Narrative to support programs like these, please visit our Give!Guide profile.
Interior of one of the Mitchell Street Apartment units
