{"id":14967,"date":"2021-09-23T08:00:46","date_gmt":"2021-09-23T08:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/?p=14967"},"modified":"2025-03-20T22:16:14","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T22:16:14","slug":"navos-peer-bridger-shares-her-substance-use-disorder-experiences-to-help-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/navos-peer-bridger-shares-her-substance-use-disorder-experiences-to-help-others\/","title":{"rendered":"Navos peer bridger shares her Substance Use Disorder experiences to help others","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2009, Debra Kelly made the life-changing decision to get help for substance use disorder (SUD).<\/p>\n

\u201cMy addiction was a circle that I kept going around in,\u201d she explains. \u201cI needed to get some help. I got tired of doing the same thing every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Debra went into intensive outpatient treatment and then graduated into treatment for alcohol, other substances, and mental health. During her journey, King County Adult Drug Diversion Court introduced her to MultiCare Behavioral Health Network\u2019s Peer Bridger program<\/a> at Navos.<\/p>\n

Since 2013, this partially donor-funded program has helped inpatient psychiatric unit clients successfully transition back into the community by connecting them with certified peer support counselors. Known as \u201cpeer bridgers,\u201d each of these counselors has had recovery experiences with mental health and\/or SUD themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cDrug court sent me to the peer bridger training because I had been volunteering to give back to women that were struggling like I had. And I was able to overcome some of the challenges that they were going through,\u201d Debra says. \u201cThe peer bridger certificate was the first thing I\u2019ve had in a long time that was of value.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a peer bridger, Debra establishes a collaborative relationship with Navos clients while in the hospital and partners with them on their recovery journeys for up to 90 days post-discharge.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of us specialize in supporting clients through our own experiences \u2014 they’re our peers,\u201d she says. \u201cI encourage clients to walk with me, as I’m still walking along. Clients want to be treated with dignity and respect, period. In order for them to recover, they have to have that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe peers are the magic behind this program\u2019s success,\u201d says Cindy Spanton, director of hospital outreach services at Navos. \u201cDebra excels at relating because she\u2019s lived there and is able to walk beside them through this part of their journey. Those connections allow people to work on what’s happening with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thanks to Debra and peer bridgers like her, many individuals have been able to successfully discharge from Navos and continue their treatment. The program has helped prevent future crises and re-hospitalizations. And, even more can be achieved with community financial support.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t tell you how blown away I am so often with each peer bridger\u2019s dedication and how they work through obstacles like nobody’s business,\u201d Cindy says. \u201cBut we can only serve a small number of our clients here, because it’s a specialized program with limited funding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Support recovery journeys in your community by donating to the Peer Bridger program through the MultiCare Behavioral Health Foundation<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 2009, Debra Kelly made the life-changing decision to get help for substance use disorder (SUD). \u201cMy addiction was a circle that I kept going around in,\u201d she explains. \u201cI needed to get some help. I got tired of doing the same thing every day.\u201d Debra went into intensive outpatient treatment and then graduated into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":103,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,75,79,111],"tags":[27],"class_list":["post-14967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-behavioral-health","category-foundations","category-profiles-stories","category-video","tag-videos"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNavos shares Substance Use Disorder experiences to help others- MultiCare Vitals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In 2009, Debra Kelly made the life-changing decision to get help for substance use disorder (SUD).\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/navos-peer-bridger-shares-her-substance-use-disorder-experiences-to-help-others\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Navos peer bridger shares her Substance Use Disorder experiences to help others - MultiCare Vitals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In 2009, Debra Kelly made the life-changing decision to get help for substance use disorder (SUD).\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/navos-peer-bridger-shares-her-substance-use-disorder-experiences-to-help-others\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MultiCare Vitals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/multicarehealthsystem\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-09-23T08:00:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-20T22:16:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2023\/02\/placeholder-default.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"931\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"540\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Shelby Taylor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/navos-peer-bridger-shares-her-substance-use-disorder-experiences-to-help-others\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/navos-peer-bridger-shares-her-substance-use-disorder-experiences-to-help-others\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Shelby Taylor\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/aa9587c09aa9836bb850c217f18de3ed\"},\"headline\":\"Navos peer bridger shares her Substance Use Disorder experiences to help others\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-09-23T08:00:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-20T22:16:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/navos-peer-bridger-shares-her-substance-use-disorder-experiences-to-help-others\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":446,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Videos\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Behavioral Health\",\"MultiCare Foundations\",\"Profiles & Patient Stories\",\"Videos\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/navos-peer-bridger-shares-her-substance-use-disorder-experiences-to-help-others\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/navos-peer-bridger-shares-her-substance-use-disorder-experiences-to-help-others\\\/\",\"name\":\"Navos shares Substance Use Disorder experiences to help others- MultiCare Vitals\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-09-23T08:00:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-20T22:16:14+00:00\",\"description\":\"In 2009, Debra Kelly made the life-changing decision to get help for substance use disorder (SUD).\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/navos-peer-bridger-shares-her-substance-use-disorder-experiences-to-help-others\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/navos-peer-bridger-shares-her-substance-use-disorder-experiences-to-help-others\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/navos-peer-bridger-shares-her-substance-use-disorder-experiences-to-help-others\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Navos peer bridger shares her Substance Use Disorder experiences to help others\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/\",\"name\":\"MultiCare Vitals\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"MultiCare\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/15\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/MultiCare-Color.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/15\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/MultiCare-Color.png\",\"width\":1500,\"height\":409,\"caption\":\"MultiCare\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/multicarehealthsystem\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/multicarehealth\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/multicare-health-system\\\/mycompany\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/multicarehealth\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/aa9587c09aa9836bb850c217f18de3ed\",\"name\":\"Shelby Taylor\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/author\\\/shelbytaylor\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Navos shares Substance Use Disorder experiences to help others- MultiCare Vitals","description":"In 2009, Debra Kelly made the life-changing decision to get help for substance use disorder (SUD).","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/navos-peer-bridger-shares-her-substance-use-disorder-experiences-to-help-others\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Navos peer bridger shares her Substance Use Disorder experiences to help others - MultiCare Vitals","og_description":"In 2009, Debra Kelly made the life-changing decision to get help for substance use disorder (SUD).","og_url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/navos-peer-bridger-shares-her-substance-use-disorder-experiences-to-help-others\/","og_site_name":"MultiCare Vitals","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/multicarehealthsystem","article_published_time":"2021-09-23T08:00:46+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-03-20T22:16:14+00:00","og_image":[{"width":931,"height":540,"url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2023\/02\/placeholder-default.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Shelby Taylor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/navos-peer-bridger-shares-her-substance-use-disorder-experiences-to-help-others\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/navos-peer-bridger-shares-her-substance-use-disorder-experiences-to-help-others\/"},"author":{"name":"Shelby Taylor","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#\/schema\/person\/aa9587c09aa9836bb850c217f18de3ed"},"headline":"Navos peer bridger shares her Substance Use Disorder experiences to help others","datePublished":"2021-09-23T08:00:46+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-20T22:16:14+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/navos-peer-bridger-shares-her-substance-use-disorder-experiences-to-help-others\/"},"wordCount":446,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#organization"},"keywords":["Videos"],"articleSection":["Behavioral Health","MultiCare Foundations","Profiles & Patient Stories","Videos"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/navos-peer-bridger-shares-her-substance-use-disorder-experiences-to-help-others\/","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/navos-peer-bridger-shares-her-substance-use-disorder-experiences-to-help-others\/","name":"Navos shares Substance Use Disorder experiences to help others- MultiCare Vitals","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-09-23T08:00:46+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-20T22:16:14+00:00","description":"In 2009, Debra Kelly made the life-changing decision to get help for substance use disorder (SUD).","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/navos-peer-bridger-shares-her-substance-use-disorder-experiences-to-help-others\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/navos-peer-bridger-shares-her-substance-use-disorder-experiences-to-help-others\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/navos-peer-bridger-shares-her-substance-use-disorder-experiences-to-help-others\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Navos peer bridger shares her Substance Use Disorder experiences to help others"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#website","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/","name":"MultiCare Vitals","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#organization","name":"MultiCare","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/05\/MultiCare-Color.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/05\/MultiCare-Color.png","width":1500,"height":409,"caption":"MultiCare"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/multicarehealthsystem","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/multicarehealth\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/multicare-health-system\/mycompany\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/multicarehealth"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#\/schema\/person\/aa9587c09aa9836bb850c217f18de3ed","name":"Shelby Taylor","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/author\/shelbytaylor\/"}]}},"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"link","format":"url"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/103"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14967"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14967\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31885,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14967\/revisions\/31885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}