The center offers a 24-hour domestic violence hotline, emotional support and crisis counseling, safety planning, emergency shelter placement, court advocacy services, support groups with free childcare, career and financial counseling and other services.
Many of these services are free and offered in English and Spanish to individuals experiencing emotional, physical or sexual abuse in a personal relationship.
“The work that we do is really rewarding because our focus is on people making empowered choices,” said Cordelia Heaney, executive director for the center. “We don’t tell people what they should or have to do.”
The goals of all Compass Center programs are to prevent and end domestic violence as well as teach women to be self-sufficient.
North Carolina is ranked No. 19 out of all states for the highest rate of women murdered by men. Heaney said many cases of domestic violence go unreported, and the number used to create this ranking does not include murder-suicides or murders within same-gender couples.
Last year, the center served 1,168 domestic violence clients and delivered over 7,000 instances of service to people, Heaney said.
The Compass Center is the only crisis center for domestic violence in Orange County. It was named a 2013 United Way Agency of Excellence and also won the Nonprofit of the Year Award in 2015.
The center receives funding from various sources, including the United Way of the Greater Triangle; the towns of Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough; Orange County and the state of North Carolina. The center also depends on individual donations, program fees and events that raise money.
