Our Navigation Model

The navigation model is an approach to supporting people with multiple and complex needs (such as substance misuse, homelessness, mental health issues, and offending) by assigning them a dedicated “navigator” who coordinates all aspects of their care.

In practice its core features include:

• One-to-One Support: Each person works with a single navigator who builds trust and provides consistent, personalized support.
• Multi-Agency Coordination: The navigator brings together services like housing, health, criminal justice, and social care through case conferences and shared plans.
• Advocacy and Problem-Solving: Navigators help clients overcome barriers (e.g., missed appointments, benefit issues) and ensure services don’t operate in silos.
• Trauma-Informed and Person-Centred: Focus on the individual’s goals, strengths, and lived experience rather than rigid service pathways.
• Clear Accountability: One named professional responsible for coordinating care and tracking progress.

Why It Matters

This model was first shown to be effective during the WY-FI (Fulfilling Lives) Programme in Bradford (2013–2019), showing that people with entrenched issues can achieve stability and recovery when services are integrated around their needs.

Supporting People with Multiple Needs

Bridge has extensive experience delivering the navigator model, a proven approach for people facing multiple vulnerabilities or simultaneous unmet needs—such as homelessness, substance misuse, mental health challenges, and domestic abuse.
Our navigators provide one-to-one, trauma-informed support, coordinating care across housing, health, and social services to ensure no one falls through the gaps. This model has transformed lives in Bradford and continues to shape our work today.

Its legacy lives on through projects like Housing First, MARRS, Lotus, and the Multiple Needs Navigator Service, all designed to break cycles of harm and create stability, recovery, and resilience.