Compound Path Type Container

I was able to get text to wrap around the center image.  But I also need the text to wrap around the square voids in this image, which here, it is of course not doing.  I combined the square shapes in the background with the silhouette pictured here as a compound path using the "minus front" pathfinder tool thinking that if it was one object I could then convert the whole shape into a type container, but I soon learned that the "area type tool" will not work on compound paths.  Any workaround on this?  PS: clipping mask was no good because it cuts the text where the no-fill parts are as opposed to having the text flow about the un-filled areas.  Any suggestions greatly appreciated.  Thanks!