The Community Navigators Program: Linking People to Resources Across a Fragmented System
By Kristen Parsons, Research Associate
Since 2017, the Community Navigators Program has operated in East Harlem, linking people disconnected from services with trained Community Navigators to help them with the often complicated task of making contact with the right supports and organizations. These Navigators—who often have shared life experiences with participants—in turn can create bridges between these organizations while building their own employment and leadership skills.
New York City has a robust landscape of social service providers, but individuals most in need of assistance face significant barriers to care. Providers often operate independently, and lack the resources to both coordinate with one another and contact the hardest-to-reach people. Individuals looking for help may also struggle to navigate the incredibly complex and overlapping service sector on their own.
In response, in late 2017, the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College implemented the Community Navigators Program (CNP) in East Harlem. The project, funded through the Manhattan District Attorney’s Criminal Justice Investment Initiative (CJII) and managed by the CUNY Institute for State & Local Governance (ISLG), has sought to bridge these siloes between providers and help connect city residents to needed services. To do this, the program created a network of trained Community Navigators, whom participants connect with as peers because of their shared life experiences and characteristics. These Navigators work one-on-one with individuals to achieve their goals by connecting them with relevant providers. In addition to providing participants with service connection, the program is a leadership and training opportunity for the Navigators themselves, whose life experiences are instrumental in helping their community; Navigators are offered professional development opportunities and a career path, particularly via the resources that come with being part of a university system.
Navigators use a variety of strategies to recruit and engage with people in their communities, including direct community outreach, stationing Navigator staff at co-location sites, and receiving referrals from partner agencies. Upon intake, Navigators work closely with participants to understand their most immediate needs and goals, the most common of which relate to employment, education, and access to safe housing, as well as social service benefits. Navigators then work with participants to develop individualized action plans that identify the steps needed to achieve these goals and, over time, provide coaching and mentoring; referrals and accompaniments to services; and ongoing support until participants meaningfully engage in services and demonstrate confidence in accessing these supports independently. Throughout their interactions with clients, Navigators infuse trauma-informed, client-centered approaches grounded in social work principles.
From late 2017 through August 2021, the program has served 1,880 clients. Nearly half (45%) of participants were Black or African-American and an additional 35% were Hispanic or Latinx. Half (50%) of participants were 24 years of age or younger, and 39% were disconnected from services for at least six months prior to enrollment in the CNP.
In 2020, the CJII funded Metis Associates to conduct a process evaluation of the CNP, which describes the program through December 2020. The full report is available here. In the report, Metis describes the importance of the program at multiple levels:
Impact on Participants
At its core, the program aims to address participants’ needs before their exit from navigation services. Since the program’s inception, 61% of participants who have left the program did so with a positive outcome; that is, having some (24%) or all (37%) of their immediate needs met. The CNP also strives to increase participants’ ability to navigate social service systems independently. Participants interviewed shared specific instances where Navigators helped them obtain employment and safe housing as well as connections to immigration lawyers and mental health services. For one participant, having her Navigator by her side during eviction proceedings was invaluable to her self-worth, saying she had an “ally” and “didn’t feel alone anymore.”
Impact on the Social Service System
Through its formal and informal partnerships as well as dedicated outreach, the CNP also enhances the service sector across New York City. The Navigators’ network of providers helps bolster connections among organizations citywide, alleviating the siloes in which providers often operate and increasing communication and coordination across them. Additionally, community partners can use Navigators as a source of knowledge on topics to which they traditionally did not have access, enhancing their ability to serve participants. Stakeholders viewed the Navigators as having “…helped increase their organizations’ own knowledge of resources and helped them to identify which community resources were best suited for each participant need.” Navigators can also provide additional case management-style services to clients from referral partners, particularly when a client’s needs are complex and necessitate more intentional coordination between providers. Similarly, Navigators can provide one-on-one support to participants—such as accompanying them to an appointment—that partner agencies would not otherwise have the capacity to do so.
Impact on Navigators
Finally, the CNP is designed to support the Navigators themselves. Instead of traditional work experience, the CNP demonstrates the value of having candidates with diverse backgrounds and experiences, including real-life, demonstrable skills relevant to navigation work regardless of educational attainment or prior work experience. The program offers a competitive salary for Community Navigators and, as a result, translates lived experience into a starting salary that can be used as a baseline for employment searches in the future. When Navigators first join the program, they participate in an in-depth orientation that covers topics such as outreach techniques; coordinating with community partners; and lessons on the most prominent needs of the participants. The CNP also provides ongoing training opportunities, including special topics most relevant to the Navigators’ work, such as practicing self-care. In addition, due to CNP’s position within the Silberman School of Social Work, Navigators may also access benefits within the CUNY system, such as tuition reimbursement and a formal pathway into social work programs. Many Navigators have used the program as a springboard to other positions within the helping professions. According to one Navigator, he was able to “…elevate [himself] even further and pursue [his] master’s of social work degree.”
About the CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance (ISLG) and the Criminal Justice Investment Initiative (CJII)
The CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance manages the Criminal Justice Investment Initiative (CJII), which was established by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in 2015. ISLG provides technical assistance, conducts oversight, measures performance, and manages all CJII grantees.
The CJII focuses on three investment areas—crime prevention, reentry and diversion, and supports for survivors of crime. The Community Navigators Program is funded through the CJII’s crime prevention-focused investments in Youth, Families & Communities
Photo by Nikolaos on Adobe Stock.