Social worker Krystal Koop talked with me about her lived experience of homelessness as a young teenager, her work in homelessness, harm reduction, and criminal justice. Krystal helped start the University District Street Medicine Project (UDSM), a University of Washington interprofessional student-run organization that still operates today (and for which I am a huge fan and faculty preceptor). This conversation occurred in the summer of 2015. Today, Krystal Koop works as a grief counselor. She talks about her first-hand experiences trying to work within broken systems, including child protective services, behavioral health, and the carceral system (and our continued and increasing criminalization of homelessness). She speaks to the importance of working with people currently or formally experiencing various forms of homelessness, with community-based frontline service providers, and providing interprofessional “learning by doing” opportunities for our health science students. This interview mentions the nurse-led Housing Health Outreach Team (HHOT) and the Downtown Emergency Service Center’s housing first 1811 Eastlake, among other Seattle service providers.
