Avron Young on Crisis Response with COMPASS

Avron Young, a COMPASS Community Responder, explains that he came to mental health and substance use treatment work through his schooling, but that his deeper motivation is personal: he’s lived around homelessness, substance use, domestic violence, and suicidal thoughts, so he can relate to people in crisis in a way many others can’t. He says working with COMPASS lets him use those experiences to meet people where they are, “step in their shoes,” and bring hope during difficult calls. Although the work can be emotionally hard, he emphasizes staying professional—pairing empathy with practical solutions. He closes by saying that nearly all the time they’re able to help people find a small “light” that pulls them out of a dark place, which is what gives him fulfillment.