Grantee: Hepatitis Education Project
Timeframe: July 2024 – June 2027 | Amount: $583,895
- Year 1: July 2024 – June 2025 | Amount: $183,895
- Year 2: July 2025 – June 2026 | Amount: $200,000
- Year 3: July 2026 – June 2027 | Amount: $200,000
Hepatitis Education Project (HEP) provides harm reduction, hepatitis C (HCV) testing, and care coordination to people living in encampments and transitional housing, while building the capacity of partner organizations to deliver harm reduction and infectious disease services.
In Year 2, HEP expanded outreach and HCV services at four sites in South King County, three of which are visited weekly, in partnership with REACH, Public Health Street Medicine, the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, and Evergreen Treatment Services. HEP hired and trained a new Outreach Care Coordinator, completed its mobile outreach setup, and supported its first client from outdoor HCV testing through treatment initiation while they were living unsheltered. Using a pharmacist-led care model, the project coordinated testing, telehealth visits, and medication access, demonstrating how treatment can be successfully delivered in community settings.
The project also adapted its outreach strategy to better meet the needs of South King County, where encampments are smaller, less stable, and often located in wooded areas. By providing consistent outreach at regular locations alongside partner organizations, HEP has established reliable access points where people living outside can receive weekly resources and services.
HEP has provided harm reduction and infectious disease training to housing providers, behavioral health and recovery organizations, public health agencies, and community-based organizations across King County. While interest has been strong, many organizations face capacity challenges in implementing new services. In response, HEP will focus on providing more intensive follow-up and implementation support to a smaller group of partners.
In Year 3, HEP will continue outreach, HCV testing, harm reduction services, and care coordination in South King County while strengthening the clinical treatment model through expanded pharmacist involvement. The project will also work closely with partner organizations to identify barriers, develop practical implementation strategies, and expand access to infectious disease and harm reduction services across King County.
ABOUT OUR GRANTEE
“Since 1993, the Hepatitis Education Project (HEP) has been fighting to make viral hepatitis less deadly. What started as a support group for people living with chronic viral hepatitis has grown into Washington state’s only 501c3 organization devoted to stopping this silent killer.
Guided by tenets of harm reduction and health equity, our work prioritizes the needs of people who use drugs, those experiencing homelessness, and marginalized communities disproportionately impacted by viral hepatitis.”
