This January if you tune into KEXP (90.3 FM) you may catch a few words about the Hepatitis Education Project. Thanks to the station's Audioasis Community Partnership Initiative, which aims to spotlight a different local nonprofit every month, HEP has been given the chance to raise awareness about hepatitis and share our mission with all of KEXP's listeners.

Everyone at HEP is really excited and thankful for this opportunity to get the word out, not just about the work that we do, but also why we do it, and that we get to do it on one of the nation's greatest nonprofit radio stations.

As our Executive Director, Michael Ninburg has said, "Seattle is incredibly fortunate to have KEXP in our backyard. Not only do they play some of the best music on the planet, they play a critical role in raising awareness and connecting their audience to the great work being done  by their nonprofit partners in the community. Listeners come for the music but leave with a real sense of being part of something bigger."

Not only will KEXP be promoting HEP's mission on air throughout the month, they will also be airing an interview with HEP's Program Director, Maureen Oscadal, on January 28th with DJ El Toro on the Audioasis program at 7pm PST. And on Saturday, February 4th Audioasis is hosting a benefit show for HEP at The Sunset in Ballard on Saturday, February 4th featuring Dyme Def, Hypatia Lake and Derek Kelley and the Speedwobbles.

For more information about show times and tickets click here.

And while KEXP is based in Seattle, WA, you don't have to be a resident of the Pacific Northwest to tune in. The station offers live streaming from its website www.kexp.org or you can find it listed on iTunes radio stations, there's even an iPhone application for mobile listeners.

On January 23, 2012 the United Way of King County hosted its annual Community Resource Exchange. The event aims to connect people experiencing homelessness with the services that they need in one place, in one day. From 9am to 2:30pm the halls of CenturyLink Field were busy volunteers, services providers and clients accessing services ranging from haircuts & manicures, to tax preparation & housing assistance, to health check-ups & vaccinations.

This year 1,500 individuals were served and the Hepatitis Education Project was fortunate to be among the many service providers on-site. Throughout the day we offered free hepatitis C antibody testing, free hepatitis A/B vaccinations and information and resources for people living with hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Thanks to the help of our great volunteers we were able to reach over 50 people with information, testing and vaccinations. This is truly a great event; we so thankful to the United Way of King County for giving us the opportunity to participate, and we're even more appreciative of the individuals who took the time out of their day to speak with us and access our services.

Landmark Bill Would Increase Funding and Testing for Hepatitis C and Hepatitis B Epidemics

Washington, DC -The Viral Hepatitis Testing Act of 2011 was introduced in both Houses of Congress on November 4, 2011, potentially saving hundreds of thousands of lives and billions in taxpayer dollars.  In the House, this bi-partisan effort is lead by Congressman Dr. Bill Cassidy (R - LA) and Congressman Mike Honda (D - CA). Senator Kerry is leading the effort in the Senate. The Act establishes, promotes, and implements hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV) screening and testing programs at State, local, territorial, and tribal levels. This important legislation aims to increase the knowledge of disease status in those chronically infected - from the current estimate of 25% for HCV; and 35% for HBV to 75% by 2016.

“Viral hepatitis is a silent killer,” said Senator Kerry. “Many people don’t even know they have hepatitis B or C until it causes liver damage or even cancer years after the initial infection. Today as many as 5.3 million Americans are battling this disease, but we still don’t have a national strategy to back them up in their fight. This bill will strengthen awareness, prevention, and treatment, hopefully stopping this silent disease from spreading further and claiming more lives.”