In 2023, donor support allowed Harborview Medical Center to expand the Peer Bridger in a new way: patients from Psychiatric Emergency Services (PES) could now be paired with PES Peers at the very beginning of care. Now, with renewed support from the Hoveida Family Foundation, the program is being extended, and additional efforts will be made to share lessons from the pilot project with community partners.
 
Peer Bridgers are staff members who have personally experienced mental health challenges and are successfully managing their own recovery. They have lived experience navigating recovery services within the mental health and/or substance use disorder systems and have received specialized training to help others on their own road to recovery. When patients with mental health and/or substance use problems receive support from Peer Bridgers, it accelerates their reintegration into the community, increases the use of outpatient services, and reduces the likelihood of future hospitalizations.
 
Harboriew currently has five Peer Bridgers following patients who choose to participate for up to 90 days following discharge from Harborview’s inpatient psychiatry units. Thanks to the Hoveida Family Foundation’s generous donation in 2023, we were able to hire two PES Peers, a new role similar to Peer Bridgers, but one that has allowed patients to connect with peer support earlier fostering engagement with outpatient services and hopefully the use of urgent crisis services and inpatient care in our region.
 
We are thankful for the Hoveida Family Foundation’s continued support of this program.