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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> PROCLAMATION RECOGNIZING AND EXPRESSING APPRECIATION <br /> TO CORDELIA HEANEY <br /> WHEREAS , the Compass Center for Women and Families in Orange County supports <br /> victims of domestic violence with temporary housing , crisis counseling , safety planning , <br /> support groups , and the Triangle community with career and financial education , legal <br /> resources , and more ; and <br /> WHEREAS , Cordelia Heaney joined the Compass Center as Executive Director in 2015 ; <br /> and <br /> WHEREAS , under Ms . Heaney ' s leadership , the Compass Center has changed lives by <br /> helping people navigate their journey to health , self- respect , and safety , empowering <br /> them and their families to lead productive lives ; and <br /> WHEREAS , Ms . Heaney has promoted equal access to the services of the Center <br /> regardless of gender , gender identity , or economic status ; and <br /> WHEREAS , Ms . Heaney grew the Center' s revenue from approximately $ 700 , 000 to <br /> almost $ 2 million ; and <br /> WHEREAS , Ms . Heaney has grown the organization to include its first Black African <br /> American Communities Services Coordinator, a support group coordinator for the Latinx <br /> Program , a full -time communications professional , a finance coordinator , and part-time <br /> positons in economic advocacy and enhanced services ; and <br /> WHEREAS , Ms . Heaney directed a major fundraising campaign to establish the Safe <br /> Homes , New Lives program , a sustainable program for emergency shelter , restoring a <br /> critical function that had been missing in the community for thirty years ; and <br /> WHEREAS , this program will consist of six apartments in Orange County to serve as <br /> temporary housing for up to 150 survivors of domestic violence a year , with a crisis <br /> housing coordinator on staff to coordinate and facilitate the work ; and <br /> WHEREAS , even given the difficult circumstances of the pandemic , the program has <br /> opened its first apartment , and it has reached its $ 675 , 000 goal for the first three <br /> apartments and is working toward the fourth ; and <br /> WHEREAS , the rationale for this " scattered housing " approach is based on extensive <br /> research conducted at Ms . Heaney' s behest by Professor Rebecca Macy and a team <br /> from the UNC School of Social Work ; and <br /> WHEREAS , the "scattered housing " approach shares overlapping goals with Orange <br /> County ' s practice of " rapid rehousing " for people experiencing homelessness , and Ms . <br /> Heaney has worked in collaboration with the Partnership to End Homelessness on the <br /> issue of housing ; and <br />