Grantee: Living Well Kent Collaborative
Timeframe: April 2024 – March 2025 | Amount: $30,000
Living Well Kent’s (LWK) Health and Wellness Manager will recruit, train, and onboard new Navigators. The Health and Wellness Manager will collaborate with refugee and immigrant communities to identify potential Navigators and address gaps in representation. The vacant Navigator positions include a Ukrainian Navigator and an additional Navigator for LWK’s Afghan community.
LWK will restore the vacant Navigator positions and enhance the Community Engagement Teams (CET). Internal promotion practices have resulted in Navigator vacancies, prompting continuous recruitment efforts within local neighborhoods to maintain representation of the refugee and immigrant community within LWK’s team. LWK will be able to sustain the roles of Navigators when grant funding ends. Once Navigators are recruited, trained, and oriented, they require about 3-6 months of direct TA support before they are ready to perform their roles to maximum capacity. At that point, LWK can include the Navigator role as part of the other programs and services, and bill for their time as part of our ongoing grant-funded initiatives.
LWK’s recruitment approach involves engaging with members of refugee and immigrant communities, including matriarchs, religious leaders, civil society, and youth-led groups, to identify trusted individuals within each population. Upon identification, the Health and Wellness Manager meets with prospective Navigators to introduce them to LWK’s work, assess their interest and availability, and initiate the employment process.
Navigators work closely with the Manager to ensure that all services provided are community-driven and tailored to the specific needs of refugee and immigrant populations. This includes facilitating enrollment in health insurance and connecting individuals with mainstream benefits or assistance programs. The Manager oversees the provision of procedural training and support to Navigators, ensuring they can offer culturally and linguistically appropriate assistance throughout the enrollment process.
Activities:
- Health and Wellness Manager collaborates with refugee and immigrant community leaders and groups to compile a list of prospective Navigators.
- Following community input, the Manager conducts one-on-one meetings with prospective candidates to gauge interest.
- LWK extends employment offers to highly ranked candidates available for Navigator positions.
- Health and Wellness Manager coordinates onboarding and orientation for new Navigators.
- Navigators commence their roles by shadowing experienced peers and the Health and Wellness Manager.
- Throughout the 3- to 6-month training period, the Manager provides individual supervision, technical support, and coaching to enhance Navigators’ capacity.
- Upon completion of training, the Manager maintains regular supervision meetings with each Navigator, offering ongoing case consultations and technical support.
About Our Grantee
Living Well Kent Collaborative
LWK is a Black and immigrant-led, by and for organization operating in the city of Kent. Founded in 2014, LWK’s mission is to provide public spaces and initiatives that encourage healthier lifestyles and better living, offering four interconnected programs: Health and Wellness, Youth Empowerment, Early Learning, and Food Access.
