Community Advisory Board: Keeping COMPASS Community-Driven and Accountable

Billy Bromage, Coordinator of the COMPASS Community Advsiory Board, describes his liaison role to COMPASS's Community Advisory Board (CAB) since its formation, including recruiting and selecting members. He emphasizes that the CAB’s purpose is to ensure community voice shapes COMPASS—both by spreading awareness and by providing ongoing feedback, advice, and challenges as the program develops. While tensions sometimes arise when community needs conflict with program or city priorities, the CAB persists in those difficult conversations and has challenged leadership at Yale, Continuum, and the City to improve accountability and alignment with community priorities. Billy highlights that CAB members’ lived experience with crises (personally or through family) brings credibility, urgency, and informed advocacy, making the CAB an essential critical voice to help ensure COMPASS is delivered in a way that truly represents the community.