Most WA youth exiting mental health treatment face homelessness

Cortes said that while programs providing housing and supportive services do exist, they often cut off eligibility when a person turns 18, which may explain in part why homelessness numbers are so high for young people aged 18-24.

“There are quite a bit of services for youth, but I think we’re recognizing … that young adults also need that support,” Cortes said. “That’s the gap we need to make sure we close.”

Proponents of the bill described the current landscape to lawmakers during public hearings, urging them to intervene in this cycle of homelessness.

Theofelis said that although emergency shelters, where many young people are currently sent after treatment, do serve a necessary function, they aren’t designed to support a person’s sobriety, medication management or mental health conditions.

Young people have told him how maintaining their sobriety, staying on top of their medication, and continuing to heal post-inpatient is difficult in this environment because temporary shelters usually lack adequate supportive services.

Proponents of the bill say that when young people are discharged into emergency shelters or back onto the streets, they risk the progress they made during inpatient treatment.

“I believe that one of the most dangerous times in a person’s recovery journey is the day they leave an inpatient program and return to the same environment they were in before,” addiction recovery advocate Sarah Spier said at the Jan. 16 hearing. “Young people … invest a great deal of hope and personal work, and all of that is risked when a young person is discharged without a support program.”

The program established by HB 1929 might even encourage young people to enter inpatient programs, since they know they would have somewhere stable to land after their treatment, explained Theofelis and others who testified.

Cortes said the bill has bipartisan support, with the main concern being that the program isn’t big enough, allocating funding for only six to 10 beds in at least two locations on each side of the state.

Cortes said that while six to 10 beds is just a drop in the bucket, he hopes it will be scaled up in the future.

“When you’re trying to do a system-level change, you want to make sure both sides of the state are covered and prove that it works, and then we hope to come back and start expanding,” Theofelis said.

Cortes said he has engaged in conversation with community and tribal organizations, who are excited about the opportunity to help reach more young people if the program is scaled up in the future.

In Washington and nationally, the number of people experiencing homelessness has reached record highs since the pandemic, largely driven by rising housing costs. According to federal data, homelessness in Washington increased nearly 20% between 2007 and 2023.

Cortes said that although this program may make only a small dent in the issue, it’s part of a wave of preventative measures needed to chip away at the issue of homelessness.

House Bill 1929 unanimously passed the Senate on Thursday and now awaits a signature from Gov. Inslee before becoming law.

“If we are serious about solving homelessness, inpatient treatment is just the beginning of the journey,” Theofelis said. “We need safe housing to get people back on track.”