Three years ago, Charmaine joined the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program offered by Compass Working Capital and Boston Housing Authority.

"Before I heard about FSS, I had a little bit of knowledge about financial literacy, but I didn't truly understand what it took to become fully self-sufficient," Charmaine says.

Charmaine was already in college when she enrolled in the program. Her Compass coach helped her find grants and scholarships so that finishing her degree wouldn't become an overwhelming financial burden. With that support, Charmaine kept moving forward. She earned her bachelor's degree while in the program, and this past May, she completed her master's degree.

Along the way, she also built a much deeper understanding of generational wealth, savings, credit, IRAs, and investment accounts.

"When I first heard about FSS, I thought it was just about working toward owning a home," Charmaine says. "Yes, that can be part of it, but Compass offers so much more. They don't just hand you a temporary fix. They give you the actual skills and knowledge to build a stable future."

Charmaine’s engagement with Compass evolved from program participant to institutional leader. She was invited to serve on the Client Advisory Board and now serves as Chairperson of the Program Committee on the Compass Working Capital Board of Directors. In this role, she brings the authentic voice of a resident, student, and clinician to executive governance—evaluating service models, shaping curriculum strategy, and advocating for policies that remove systemic barriers for families across the Commonwealth.

"Serving as Program Committee Chair allows me to take everything I’ve lived, studied, and practiced and use it to help ensure our programs meet families where they actually are," Charmaine says. "It is full-circle advocacy."

Now looking toward graduation from the FSS program, Charmaine has set her sights on two major upcoming milestones: completing her clinical licensure to expand her mental health practice and securing a permanent single-family home for her grandson and family.

"I spent a long time surviving," Charmaine says. "Compass gave me the space and structure to start planning for the future. On this path, buying a home of our own isn't just a distant dream anymore—it's the concrete next chapter where my family finally stops just surviving and begins to truly thrive.