About 45 people attended the Community Day, which presented an opportunity to participate in the re-visioning of COMPASS and to explore ways forward for the future. Some of them had been involved with COMPASS for many years, and others more recently. The range of people present included counsellors and supervisors, trustees and staff.
The Director, Brenda Dunn, welcomed everyone and gave a brief synopsis of the need to make changes in the future before handing over to Veronica Colam, one of the trustees. Veronica reported on the response to the Training Survey questionnaire which was circulated earlier in the year and itemised the ways in which the trustees had implemented people’s suggestions and requests. The Community Day was itself a major example of the way in which the trustees had listened, and responded, to the wishes of COMPASS personnel.
Neville Black, the Chair of COMPASS, shared a little of his vision for the future and then there was an opportunity for ideas to be explored in four discussion groups. After reports were presented from these groups, and a coffee break, Ivan Ford, another trustee, led a discussion on client donations (or fees?) and counsellors’ and administrators’ responsibility in maximising this source of income.
Everyone enjoyed the delicious lunch which had been prepared by Mary Evans, also a trustee.
The afternoon session gave an opportunity to attend one of three training workshops:
After a much-needed tea break, Neville Black rounded off by facilitating an evaluation of the day and focussing on the next steps forward.
People really appreciated the meticulous planning of the day by the trustees and the careful preparations by the staff which all contributed towards its success. They also enjoyed the opportunity to meet people whom they had known well, and those they had never seen before, all of them sharing a common concern for the survival of COMPASS.