Welcome from Dr. Dee

Let me start by thanking Will Baum, Excelsior House Therapist, and overall man extraordinaire, for creating The Excelsior/Jump Bulletin . He is one energetic, ambitious, and organized guy!

The bulletin isn’t the only new development at Excelsior House and Jump Street. Within this past year, several changes occurred—new staff, new programs, and, for me, a new job and title. I’m now, after 13 years at Excelsior House, Director of Crisis Residential Programs. The primary goal of the change: to have Excelsior House and Jump Street be more unified and to provide more supportive, hands-on management. It’s been an exciting transition.I’ve seen the houses go through many changes over the years. When I started at Excelsior House in 1993 (as Program Coordinator), there wasn’t a regular program structure, no program schedule, and an absence of standard policies and procedures. Excelsior House was split between six longer term residential beds, and eight crisis beds. Back then, in the early 1990’s, Jump Street was more like a small homeless shelter, operating out of a converted rented apartment room. Things certainly have changed since then! If you’ve been to Jump Street—now located in a beautiful Mid-Wilshire Spanish-style home—you’ll understand what I’m talking about. Today, both houses offer structure throughout the day, including daily relapse prevention groups, individual therapy, expert case management, that help clients gain stability, connect to resources, and move toward their goals. In the last year, each house has welcomed a new Program Director. Stephen Fine is heading up Jump Street, and Dr. Tracy Caldeira is providing leadership at Excelsior House (see their bios in “Staff News”). I’m thrilled about the changes, and about all the hard work that clients and staff have done over the years and continue to do every day. Now, The Excelsior/Jump Bulletin has become a positive part of the new, exciting changes within the programs. I invite any and all former or current clients, staff, and people in the community to send us stories regarding the houses and recovery in general. Your input will help shape the bulletin. Write ejb@didihirsch.org and return to this space for more updates, more news, and more client stories in the future.

This is just the beginning!

Dr. Dee Chappelear
Director of Crisis Residential Programs