Mapping the navigation systems of Pennsylvania: Opportunities for the future

Affordable housing, employment, safety, mental and behavioral health, affordable legal services, transportation, income support, benefits navigation, education, and health – many organizations are dedicated to meeting these singular needs. However, increasingly health and human service agencies recognize that greater coordination is needed to meet clients’ needs. For example, research on the social determinants of health finds that human services like affordable housing and income support significantly impact an individual’s well-being and longevity. However, until recently, the healthcare and human service sectors have operated as independent bodies which rarely, if ever, intersected or collaborated. Similarly, socio-cultural models suggest that problems, such as community violence and substance abuse, are intertwined with community and society problems. Because human needs are related, greater coordination among human service providers and healthcare providers is needed.