Building Bridges to Stability: Excelsior Wellness Shares Early Successes and Lessons Learned from Its Bridge Housing Program

Building Bridges to Stability: Excelsior Wellness Shares Early Successes and Lessons Learned from Its Bridge Housing Program

Bridge Coalition Spotlight | October 2026

For young people exiting inpatient behavioral health treatment, the transition back into the community can be one of the most vulnerable periods in their recovery. Without stable housing, continued behavioral health services, and meaningful connections to community support, young people face significant barriers to maintaining their progress and building a stable future.

Washington State’s SHB 1929 Bridge Housing Program was created to address this critical gap by providing eligible youth and young adults experiencing or at risk of homelessness with up to 90 days of temporary housing, wraparound behavioral health services, and individualized support as they transition from inpatient treatment into the community.

During the October meeting of the Bridge Coalition, hosted by NorthStar Advocates, Lauren Zunker, Executive Director of Transitional Aged Programs at Excelsior Wellness, presented an overview of the organization’s Bridge Housing program in Spokane, Washington. Her presentation, Bridge Program: Early Impact, Lessons Learned & the Work Ahead, highlighted the program’s approach, the young people it serves, promising early outcomes, and opportunities to strengthen coordination across systems.

The Bridge Coalition brings together behavioral health providers, housing organizations, state agencies, policymakers, advocates, and young people with lived experience to strengthen the intersection of Washington State’s behavioral health and homelessness response systems. The coalition works to improve coordination, identify systemic gaps, and advance solutions that ensure no young person exits inpatient behavioral health treatment into homelessness.

About Excelsior Wellness and the Bridge Program

For over 45 years, Excelsior Wellness has supported young people and families through a comprehensive, integrated approach to health and well-being. With services spanning behavioral health, primary care through its integrated medical center, education and skills development, and recovery and housing supports, Excelsior Wellness is committed to uplifting the mental, emotional, and physical health of individuals and communities. Guided by its vision that when youth thrive, neighborhoods and communities thrive, the organization emphasizes relationships, wellness, recovery, and independence.

Through its SHB 1929 Bridge Housing program in Eastern Washington, Excelsior Wellness provides young adults exiting inpatient behavioral health treatment with a supportive environment where they can continue their recovery, strengthen community connections, and prepare for stable housing and greater independence.

Excelsior Wellness’s history of serving transition-age youth informs a program model grounded in relationships and a commitment to youth voice, choice, and autonomy.

The program emphasizes:

• Youth-Directed Planning: Supporting young people in identifying their own goals and determining their next steps.
• Meaningful Structure and Independence: Balancing supportive routines with opportunities for personal choice and growth.
• Continuity of Care: Maintaining and strengthening connections to behavioral health providers and recovery supports.
• Family and Community Connections: Creating opportunities to rebuild supportive relationships and establish meaningful community connections.
• Individualized Transition Planning: Helping young people prepare for their next best place.

Rather than moving directly from inpatient behavioral health treatment into homelessness or unstable housing, participants have up to 90 days to strengthen their recovery, develop independent living skills, and establish a plan for their future.

A 90-Day Model Focused on Stability and Independence

Excelsior Wellness’s Bridge Program follows a four-part approach designed to support young people as they transition from inpatient treatment into community living.

1. Stabilize

Provide a consistent, supportive living environment where young people can meet their basic needs, establish routines, and focus on safety and recovery.

2. Connect

Maintain or rebuild relationships with behavioral health providers, family members, peers, and community supports. These connections help participants establish a foundation for continued recovery and long-term stability.

3. Practice

Build confidence through independent living skill development and opportunities to practice everyday responsibilities. Participants develop skills that support greater independence and successful community integration.

4. Plan

Engage in individualized Return to Community Planning to identify housing options, strengthen support networks, and prepare for the next steps following their Bridge Housing stay.

Together, these four components create a supportive transition period that prioritizes recovery, relationships, and the development of skills necessary for long-term stability.

Serving Young Adults Exiting Inpatient Behavioral Health Treatment

Excelsior Wellness’s Bridge Program serves young people transitioning from inpatient mental health and substance use disorder treatment who need supportive housing and continued community-based services.

At the time of the October 2026 presentation, 14 young people had been admitted to the program.

Key Participant Data:

• 14 young people had been admitted to the Bridge Program.
• 85.7% entered directly from inpatient behavioral health treatment, representing 12 of the 14 participants.
• Of those entering directly from inpatient treatment, 7 came from substance use disorder treatment and 5 from mental health treatment.

These findings highlight the importance of providing a direct connection between inpatient behavioral health treatment and stable, supportive housing.

For young people who have made progress during inpatient treatment, the availability of a safe place to continue their recovery can help prevent disruptions in care and reduce the risk of homelessness.

Promising Early Outcomes: Employment, Recovery, and Education

One of the most significant portions of Excelsior Wellness’s presentation focused on the early progress participants have made while receiving Bridge Housing services.

Key Program Outcomes:

• 4 young people gained employment, taking important steps toward financial independence and stability.
• 4 young people maintained sobriety, supporting continued progress in their substance use recovery.
• 2 young people started school, creating opportunities for education, personal development, and future employment.

These outcomes reflect the importance of providing young people with more than a temporary place to stay.

Employment, education, and continued recovery are essential components of long-term stability. By providing supportive housing alongside individualized services and community connections, the Bridge Program creates opportunities for young people to pursue goals that extend beyond their immediate housing needs.

Housing Outcomes: Supporting Successful Transitions

Perhaps the most significant finding was that 66.7% of participants with recorded exits transitioned into stable housing.

At the time of the presentation:

• 12 participants had recorded program exits.
• 8 of those 12 participants transitioned into stable housing.
• 66.7% of recorded exits resulted in stable housing destinations.

These early outcomes demonstrate encouraging progress toward the central goal of SHB 1929: ensuring young people leaving inpatient behavioral health treatment have a pathway to stable housing rather than homelessness.

Excelsior Wellness also highlighted the importance of flexible funding in helping young people overcome immediate barriers to care, community connections, and their next housing placement.

Flexible resources can be particularly important during transitional periods when young people may need assistance addressing practical challenges that could otherwise delay progress toward independence.

While the program continues to develop and strengthen its model, these early housing outcomes offer valuable insight into the importance of coordinated behavioral health and housing services.

The Impact Behind the Numbers

Beyond employment, education, recovery, and housing outcomes, Excelsior Wellness highlighted the everyday progress young people are making during their time in the Bridge Program.

Through resident-reported experiences and staff observations, the presentation identified several important areas of growth.

Self-Directed Progress

Young people are taking steps toward their personal goals, including starting school, seeking employment, and identifying the supports and opportunities that are meaningful to them.

Continuity of Care

Participants are maintaining outpatient behavioral health appointments, medication routines, and recovery connections, helping preserve the progress made during inpatient treatment.

Everyday Well-Being

Activities such as cooking, spending time outdoors, learning public transportation routes, and participating in positive community experiences help young people build confidence and independence.

Family and Natural Supports

The program provides time and space for participants to reconnect with family members, reflect on important relationships, and explore safe, supportive connections.

These experiences demonstrate that successful transitions involve more than securing housing. They also require opportunities to build confidence, strengthen relationships, maintain recovery, and develop a sense of belonging within the community.

As Excelsior Wellness emphasized in its presentation:

“The numbers tell us where young people go. Their stories tell us what it takes to get there.”

Lessons Learned: Strengthening Coordination Across Systems

In addition to sharing early successes, Excelsior Wellness provided valuable insight into the challenges of implementing a new Bridge Housing program.

The presentation emphasized that successful transitions require early planning, strong partnerships, and coordinated communication between inpatient treatment providers, housing programs, and community organizations.

Several important lessons have emerged:

• Program Implementation: Initial startup took longer than anticipated due to site changes, required approvals, and staffing considerations.
• Community Partnerships: Building shared understanding among Spokane-area partners has required ongoing outreach, engagement, and coordination.
• Earlier Referrals: Beginning the referral process before discharge and strengthening communication with inpatient providers can support more successful transitions.
• Housing and Benefits Navigation: Housing approvals, employment processes, identification documents, and public benefits can affect how quickly young people are able to transition into stable housing.

These challenges highlight the importance of addressing systemic barriers that extend beyond the services provided by any individual organization.

The Work Ahead: Continuing to Strengthen the Bridge Housing Model

As Excelsior Wellness continues implementing its Bridge Program, the organization has identified several priorities for improving coordination and supporting longer-term outcomes.

Key Priorities Moving Forward:

• Strengthen Discharge Coordination: Begin planning earlier and improve warm handoffs between inpatient treatment providers and Bridge Housing staff.
• Expand Partner Outreach: Continue working with community partners to clarify program eligibility, referral processes, and transition timelines.
• Address Housing and Benefits Needs Earlier: Begin housing applications, identification, income, and benefits processes at program entry or sooner whenever possible.
• Improve Long-Term Outcome Tracking: Strengthen follow-up processes and incorporate resident-defined measures of success to better understand participants’ progress after leaving the program.

These priorities reflect an important lesson from the early implementation of SHB 1929: preventing homelessness following inpatient behavioral health treatment requires coordinated systems that begin planning for a young person’s next steps well before discharge.

Strengthening Washington’s Behavioral Health System Through Collaboration

The early outcomes shared by Excelsior Wellness demonstrate the importance of continued investment in programs that bridge the gap between inpatient behavioral health treatment and stable community living.

At NorthStar Advocates, our mission is to prevent and end homelessness by supporting young people, strengthening families and communities, and holding the systems designed to serve them accountable.

NorthStar Advocates, through its leadership of the Bridge Coalition, played a pivotal role in spearheading and advancing SHB 1929, landmark Washington State legislation designed to prevent youth and young adults from exiting inpatient behavioral health treatment into homelessness. Working alongside coalition partners, service providers, advocates, policymakers, and young people with lived experience, NorthStar Advocates helped advance a legislative solution to a longstanding gap between behavioral health treatment and housing stability.

Today, the implementation of SHB 1929 is taking shape through programs like Excelsior Wellness’s Bridge Program, demonstrating how coordinated advocacy, legislative action, and cross-system collaboration can translate into meaningful support for young people across Washington State.

Through our continued leadership of the Bridge Coalition, we are working to strengthen the intersection of Washington State’s behavioral health and homelessness response systems, ensuring that young people leaving inpatient behavioral health treatment have access to the housing, services, and community supports they need.

Our goal is clear: No young person should exit inpatient behavioral health treatment into homelessness.

Achieving this goal requires collaboration across systems, meaningful engagement with young people who have lived experience, and continued investment in culturally and developmentally appropriate behavioral health services.

The Bridge Coalition provides an ongoing opportunity to share program outcomes, identify systemic barriers, elevate promising practices, and advance solutions that improve transitions from inpatient behavioral health treatment into stable housing and community life.

Programs like Excelsior Wellness’s Bridge Program demonstrate what is possible when housing, behavioral health treatment, and individualized community supports work together to help young people move toward stability, recovery, and independence.

Every young person deserves the opportunity to find their next best place.

Join the Bridge Coalition

The Bridge Coalition is hosted by NorthStar Advocates and meets virtually on the fourth Tuesday of every month from 1:00–2:30 p.m. Pacific Time.

Meetings bring together partners from across Washington State to share innovative approaches, discuss emerging challenges, highlight program outcomes, and collaborate on solutions that improve the lives of youth and young adults transitioning from systems of care.

We welcome behavioral health and housing providers, community partners, policymakers, advocates, and individuals with lived experience who are interested in strengthening Washington’s systems of care.

Interested in joining the Bridge Coalition? Visit NorthStar Advocates to learn more about the coalition and upcoming meetings.

https://northstaradvocates.org/the-bridge-program/

Learn More About Excelsior Wellness

For additional information about Excelsior Wellness’s Bridge Housing program, including program eligibility, services, and referrals:

Bridge Program Website and Online Referral Application:
https://excelsiorintegratedcare.org/bridge/

Program Contact:

Lauren.zunker@excelsiorwellness.org
Lauren Zunker
Executive Director of Transitional Aged Programs
Excelsior Wellness

This article is based on the presentation delivered by Lauren Zunker of Excelsior Wellness during the October 2026 Bridge Coalition meeting, hosted by NorthStar Advocates.