How We Work

Here’s how WholeYouNYC puts New Yorkers on pathways to better health

Jasmine is an immigrant single mom with two young children.

When Jasmine’s husband passed from COVID-19, she lost her health insurance. She now works two jobs cleaning houses to support her family but is barely making ends meet. Her family is struggling to afford food as bills pile up.

Illustration of a busy mom holding the hands of her two young children. On a table next to her is a long bill that says "debt" at the top.
Illustration of a woman at the doctor's office with her head in her hands, looking unwell. A nurse and doctor stand next to her.

One day, Jasmine wakes up feeling extremely unwell.

She arrives at a hospital with chest pain, shortness of breath, nausea, and blurred vision. After she is examined, the hospital staff discharge Jasmine with a refill for blood pressure medication and referrals to follow up with a PCP (primary care physician) and a cardiologist.

Now, Jasmine needs to figure out her next steps.

First, she needs health insurance to follow up with the PCP and cardiologist.

Then, she needs to connect with a food pantry to make sure her and her family’s nutritional needs are met.

Finally, Jasmine needs medically tailored meals to help reduce her blood pressure and get her health back on track.

An illustration of a woman looking at a long checklist given to her by the doctor.

Unfortunately for Jasmine, she starts to face challenges that can stop her from getting life-changing resources.

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Jasmine is eligible for Medicaid but when she tries applying online, she finds the process confusing. She tries a helpline but struggles to follow the instructions in English because she speaks only Arabic.

Illustration of a woman at a computer looking worried. There are a number of to-do items on the screen that she is confused about how to address.
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Jasmine has been referred to a food pantry too far from her home, and she is ineligible to get food assistance.

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Jasmine has no idea where or how to get medically tailored meals that would help with her blood pressure and cardiac issues.

An illustration of a woman attempting to call the hospital but she cannot get through.An illustration of a sliding scale from good health to poor health with the slider closest to poor health.

There was no follow-up from the hospital with Jasmine to determine if she received food, went to her follow-up appointments, or found medically tailored meals.

Because Jasmine was not able to find the nutrition she needed, her health worsens. She remains uninsured, and her stress continues to build. The overall health of the family also suffers.

Let’s consider the same situation as before, but a different path for Jasmine.


After the hospital visit, Jasmine visits the WholeYouNYC website and fills a short digital intake form.

An illustration of a woman with a to-do list who then turns to her computer to look up Public Health Solutions. When she is looking at the Public Health Solutions screen, she has a smile on her face.
An illustration of a Public Health Solutions representative helping the woman with the many items on her to-do list.

A WholeYouNYC navigator reaches out to her and completes a short assessment of immediate needs — health insurance and food.

The navigator enters all of Jasmine’s relevant information to WholeYouNYC, a network of hundreds of social service programs across New York City.

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The Navigator helps Jasmine enroll into SNAP for immediate food assistance and connects her with a social service organization that delivers medically tailored meals to her home.

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The Navigator also connects Jasmine to an Arabic-speaking PHS Health Insurance Navigator and WIC outreach coordinator, who help her enroll into health insurance and additional food assistance.

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All the enrollment forms are completed and submitted digitally, lifting a huge burden for Jasmine. Now, she can schedule her follow-up appointments with the PCP and cardiologist, as instructed by the hospital.

A happy mom at the dinner table with her two young children. There is healthy food on the table. An icon of a sliding scale going from good health to poor health now has the slider closer to good health.