Changent is a national nonprofit organization with a strong community focus, partnering with local providers and systems to support children and families facing significant barriers to health and well-being. Through scalable, data-driven programs, Changent works to improve long-term outcomes for families by strengthening access to mental health care, maternal and child health services, and coordinated community support.
To support learning, collaboration, and data-informed decision-making, Changent created the Family Opportunity Atlas (FOA), an interactive mapping tool built in ArcGIS Online. The FOA brings together national service area data from its programs alongside multiple health equity indicators, helping Changent staff and implementing partners, among others, explore geographic patterns, identify disparities, and better understand pathways toward improved outcomes for children and families.
From the outset, the Family Opportunity Atlas was designed to serve a broad audience, including users who may not have specialized GIS training. Changent wanted to prioritize accessibility not only to support people with diverse access needs, but also to make complex spatial information easier to interpret for anyone encountering the data.
To support this inclusive storytelling approach, Changent partnered with dymaptic to design and build the Family Opportunity Atlas with accessibility as a foundational principle. Dymaptic’s work began with thoughtful choices around language, color, symbology, contrast, and even narrative structure to support clarity and inclusive use across a diverse audience. Dymaptic's Accessible Map Agent then extended this foundation by translating complex spatial content into clear, human-readable descriptions that help users understand patterns, relationships, and meaning across the maps. Working in harmony with the StoryMap narrative, this approach helped broaden engagement with the FOA and supported Changent’s mission to improve health outcomes through inclusive, data-informed understanding.
Through the Family Opportunity Atlas, Changent demonstrates how accessible map descriptions can enhance the impact of geospatial storytelling. This approach ensures that critical health equity insights are available to all audiences.
“Maps can illuminate patterns that shape health equity, but the power of maps is realized only when people can truly understand and use them. The FOA challenged us to reimagine how we present and communicate complex spatial data to ensure it would be inclusive, clear, and capable of sparking insight, dialogue, and meaningful change.” - Claire Colangelo, Director of Health Equity, Changent