Waterloo Human Services Plan: Active Linking & Community Navigators

One of the aims of the Waterloo Human Services Plan is to better connect people to the services they need as quickly as possible while minimizing the time they need to retell their stories.

Work by two groups in the Waterloo Human Services Collaborative has resulted in new tools and resources on “active linking” and “community navigators” to improve how the service system works for service users. These resources are now available under the resources tab on the Collaborative’s website, www.waterloo2017.com

Active Linking Resources encourages government and non-government frontline workers to take responsibility for helping a service user navigate and feel supported within the service system. An active linker connects service users to appropriate services, managing the system’s complexity so the client doesn’t have to deal with it. The resources include an Active Linker Handbook for agency staff and training slides. Service user material will also soon be available based on the information sheet in the last two pages of the handbook that covers “Our Staff are committed to active linking” and “We are part of the Waterloo Collaborative”.

Waterloo Community Navigators Tool Kit is designed to assist community services, government service workers, and community organization-authorized volunteers who may not specialize in referrals and casework but still need to connect people with the right services and support through signposting and active linking. That resource includes a Navigator Tool Handbook and training presentation. It also consists of the Navigator Tool, which is used to help people identify the areas of support they need so they can be helped to connect to the right services.

Residents can also use the Navigator Tool independently to describe their support needs before attending a support service. The Tenant’s Welcome Pack provides information about local services.

These tools build on and complement earlier work by the Collaborative on improving Customer Service. Materials on improving customer service can be found in the Collaborative’s Customer Service Toolkit.