The Navigator series spotlights staff in community-based organizations and mentors within peer workforce social service models. In our second feature, we are supporting the work of Shonique Hill, one of the facilitators leading the Community Navigator Institute.

“Service navigation builds the community. It allows community members to learn about the services available and hope they will pay it forward by sharing and helping someone else.”

Shonique Hill, Associate at the Community Navigator Institute

Tell us a little about yourself. What’s your current role? How long have you been working with the Community Navigator Program?

My name is Shonique Hill. I am a mom and a life-long community member of East Harlem. I attended school from elementary through high school in East Harlem as well. I was a part of the pioneer class at The Young Women’s Leadership School. Currently, I am an Associate with the Community Navigator Institute, where I provide support and perspective on what it is like to do on-the-ground navigation. I have been with the Community Navigator Program since its inception in October 2017. Working as a navigator taught me about social work/human services, and as a result, I plan to return to school to complete a bachelor’s degree in social work.

What initially sparked your interest in service navigation?

I have always been a person people come to for support and guidance. It has never felt like a job but a calling in my life that I take seriously. So when this opportunity presented itself, I thought, wow, I can get paid to do something I love. It felt like divine alignment, and I haven’t looked back since.

“Working in East Harlem has humbled me because I know how my people feel — I was and still am those people… It’s hard to trust systems when doors have been repeatedly closed, and you feel unwelcome.”

Shonique Hill, Associate at the Community Navigator Institute

Why is service navigation important?

Service navigation builds the community. It allows community members to learn about the services available and hope they will pay it forward by sharing and helping someone else. The goal is to uplift and empower the voices of the people. Because the truth is, without community, agencies cannot thrive. Remember to be for the people, the people have to want it.

What has your experience been like working in East Harlem? What are things you have learned from being in the community?

I was raised and rooted in East Harlem and have seen organizations come and go because of underutilization. I also saw those same agencies lose quality people because of insufficient funding. Knowing this helped me to see that to bridge the gap a middle man was needed (i.e., Navigator)! Working in East Harlem has humbled me because I know how my people feel– I was and still am those people. And because this community prides itself on not asking for help, I knew I needed to ensure that I created a safe and welcoming space. People needed to establish a trusting relationship with providers to make this a successful interaction, which was challenging to do in the past. It’s hard to trust systems when doors have repeatedly closed, and you feel unwelcome.

What are some exciting things that happened in Cohort 2 of the Community Navigator Institute?

Since this is Cohort 2, it is exciting to see the attendees’ participation. This time, we’ve learned our flow and how to support each other during the sessions. I’ve also enhanced my skills in group facilitating and collaboration.

What advice would you give to people who are interested in getting into social service navigation?

I would tell them to make it about building up the people. There is no harm in sharing information or asking for information. The work can be political, but as long as you know who you are and what you bring, don’t let that sway you. Stand in your truth and remember that your goal is to serve the people’s interests.

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About the Navigator Spotlight Series

The Navigator series spotlights staff in community-based organizations, credible messengers, and mentors within peer workforce social service models. These individuals inspire us to think expansively about city services and the vital work happening within communities to connect people to services, programs, and supports.

The Navigator series spotlights staff in community-based organizations and mentors within peer workforce social service models. For our first feature, we are centering the work of Vileti ‘Akolo, one of the facilitators leading the Community Navigator Institute.

“Working in El Barrio and alongside the people of East Harlem has taught me to always trust the voices and experiences of the people who’ve lived here for generations, who’ve contributed to weaving El Barrio into the community it is today.” Vileti ‘Akolo, Social Work Supervisor of the Community Navigator Institute

Tell us a little about yourself. What’s your current role? How long have you been working with the Community Navigator Program?

Hey y’all! I am Vileti ‘Akolo, I use she/they pronouns, and I am a first-generation Tongan trauma-informed licensed social worker, psychotherapist, restorative justice circle keeper, and consultant who focuses on staff development and workplace culture. My social work career spans over a decade of service in family/intimate partner/gender-based and teen dating violence, public and charter school education, re-entry and alternatives to incarceration programming, trauma-responsive care and community-based organizations. My current role is Facilitator with the Community Navigator Institute, formerly known as the Community Navigator Program. I became a part of the former Community Navigator Program in 2019 as a Social Work Supervisor responsible for supervising, coaching, and developing staff and social work interns, while cultivating community partnerships with the local East Harlem and neighboring uptown communities and social service providers.

How has your experience with the Community Navigator Institute been? Can you reflect a little on Cohort 1? What are your hopes for the next two cohorts?

I’ve really enjoyed showcasing our program’s framework and co-creating with the team the lessons learned and best practices of social service models that we found integral and complementary to our work. We kicked off the Institute in early July by introducing the original and evolved approaches to case navigation. We went on to highlight our holistic approaches to social work supervision, intern & staff coaching and professional development, and concluded the cohort featuring the rich history of Asset-Based Community Development, the deep value of community engagement and the importance of storytelling through data tracking. My hope for the next two cohorts is that more folks who are doing the ‘on the ground’ work are aware of these offerings and are able to attend and engage in our upcoming workshop series.

What initially sparked your interest in service navigation?

I am a child of elderly immigrants and was raised in a household and larger insular Tongan community where acknowledging that help was needed and seeking ‘outside help’ from the modern Western world for any type of systems support was discouraged and frowned upon. While I appreciate and honor the long-lasting examples of cultural mutual aid that has sustained the Tongan diasporic community for generations, I also know the transformation that can happen when relationship building between community organizations and the local neighborhood are prioritized. When these types of connections are fostered, it allows the local community to feel safe and brave enough to seek help, disclose their life challenges and what their family’s needs are in order to thrive.

Can you talk a little more about your philosophy in service work? What values do you hold and how do you integrate these into your practice?

My philosophy in service work is grounded in teachings by Black feminist activists and writers like bell hooks, Audre Lorde, Toni Morrison and Octavia Butler, to name a few, as well as my own indigenous Tongan cultural values and traditions. I believe the people and communities seeking support should always be centered and the focus in service work. Honoring, uplifting and seeing the value in their lived experiences through co-collaboration needs to be paramount in our approach to providing support services. This can look many different ways. I integrate my values into my practice through intentional relationship building, moving at the speed of trust, practicing vulnerability and modeling boundaries with colleagues and staff. I do my best to be transparent and show up as my most authentic self. When I am able to show up in these ways, I’ve noticed it allows others to embrace their own uniqueness and show up as they are, ready to share their gifts with others.

What are some misconceptions about social service navigation?

One misconception about social service navigation stems from having unrealistic expectations of the service provider and what they can actually accomplish within their own professional capacity and scope of work. Sometimes social service navigation can feel extremely daunting and dissatisfying for both the worker and person in need because of the many layers and sometimes barriers they have to traverse in order to link the community member to various resources. Another misconception is that all needs will be met within a certain timeframe. The intention is always to connect the person in need to services within a timely manner, and on the other hand, we know systems work can take much longer than expected for many reasons outside our control.

What has your experience been like working in East Harlem? What are things you have learned from being in the community?

I would describe my personal experience of working in East Harlem as serendipitously divine. I attended Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College which is located in El Barrio, and since I graduated from my Master’s program in 2014 I’ve found myself working for organizations also located within this culturally rich community. I’ve yet to leave this community. Working in El Barrio and alongside the people of East Harlem has taught me to always trust the voices and experiences of the people who’ve lived here for generations, who’ve contributed to weaving El Barrio into the community it is today. El Barrio is a community that is doing its best to thrive in the face of gentrification, corruption, drug addiction and gun violence, and working here has taught me to always center community, rely on community and connection building, because that is what will always lead us and sustain us in being able to do this work.

“I believe the people and communities seeking support should always be centered and the focus in service work. Honoring, uplifting and seeing the value in their lived experiences through co-collaboration needs to be paramount in our approach to providing support services.”

– Vileti ‘Akolo, Social Work Supervisor of the Community Navigator Institute

Can you speak to the value of lived experience in social service navigation? What advice would you give to people who are interested in leveraging their lived experience to get into social service navigation?

Lived experience in social service navigation is the factor you didn’t know you needed until you see how transformative and impactful it is to the ins and outs of the work. Receiving social service support from someone who has had to trod down similar paths as you has shown to put people at ease and feel more comfortable being vulnerable about their challenges. It dissipates fear and shame and allows for compassion and empathy to guide the work. My advice to anyone interested in leveraging their lived experience to get into social service navigation is to be both aware that your story can change someone’s life, AND, it might not always resonate with where others are at in their life and to not take it personal, but to know that you carry your story with you and however you share your story with others is worthy and enough in and of itself.

What has it been like to work alongside the Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity’s Service Design Studio?

It has been a breath of fresh air and has felt very supportive and collaborative working with the Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity’s Service Design Studio. They have been extremely helpful every step of the way, listening to our concerns, asking for our feedback as we create structures and build out the Institute. I feel like we are genuinely integrating our strengths on both ends of this partnership and it has felt really affirming to witness the mutual trust and transparency unfold as we continue working together.

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About the Navigator Spotlight Series

The Navigator series spotlights staff in community-based organizations, credible messengers, and mentors within peer workforce social service models. These individuals inspire us to think expansively about city services and the vital work happening within communities to connect people to services, programs, and supports.

The Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity is partnering with the Hunter Silberman School of Social Work Community Navigators to provide workshops to train peer Navigators to better connect young people to services and support.

The Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity (NYC Opportunity) is excited to announce our support for the Community Navigators Institute at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College. With funding from NYC Opportunity, the Community Navigators Institute (CNI) is offering free workshops for staff in community based organizations, peer mentors, credible messengers, and those generally interested in peer workforce social service models. Attendees will learn effective tools and strategies for the community care they provide at their respective organizations. Topics that will be covered include an introduction to social service navigation, holistic approaches to case management, community engagement, stakeholder management, data & tracking, and more. Each workshop will be facilitated by staff from the Community Navigator Program at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College.