Our newest and most popular advocacy effort is our Community Navigation Team. We support a team of highly trained people and their staff to navigate the community and provide education to help local businesses and healthcare providers meet the unique needs of all their community members. The team is a diverse group of people, called Community Navigators, who may have difficulty seeing, walking, or communicating. The Team received specialized training on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), National Culturally Linguistically Appropriate Service Standards (CLAS Standards) and customer-service best practices.
As they engage in their daily routines of shopping, going to doctor appointments and riding the metro, the Community Navigators assess their experiences. The assessment includes the physical environment, staff and implementation of ADA and CLAS Standards. Each business receives a score based on our rating system. Businesses are later contacted and given their rating. If a business has great ratings, we send them a “thank you” and promote the business on our website, social media and within the community. If the business struggles, we work with the business to make improvements. After changes are made, the Community Navigators visit again to congratulate them!
