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Harm Reduction Circle
Harm Reduction Circle
Nightlife Settings, Street-Based Outreach, Online, & Beyond
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Our expertise

Key Issues in Festivals & Other Nightlife Settings

Nightlife spaces—clubs, bars, raves, and music festivals—bring people together to celebrate and connect. But they can also carry serious risks. High levels of alcohol and drug use, especially when substances are mixed, increase the chances of medical emergencies, unsafe sex, violence, and impaired driving.


In Southern California, fentanyl has become a driving factor in overdose deaths, showing up in more than two-thirds of fatal overdoses in Orange County. Large events and festivals often see counterfeit pills and powders contaminated with fentanyl, making the risk of unintentional overdose higher than ever.


The environment itself—heat, crowding, loud music, and limited access to water—can make these risks worse. That’s why harm reduction measures like free hydration stations, safe spaces to cool down, naloxone access, drug checking, and trained staff are critical. These strategies don’t discourage nightlife; they make nightlife safer, healthier, and more sustainable for everyone.

Step 1: Pre-Event Planning

We promote safety in nightlife and festival settings by providing harm reduction education, free naloxone, fentanyl test strips, and wellness support. Our team engages directly with event goers to ensure they have the knowledge and resources to stay safe.

Event Needs Assessment

for organizers, venue owners, and managers

We start with a structured needs assessment to align safety goals with your event’s vision and operations. Together, we:
Profile the event (type, expected attendance, demographics).
Map risks (heat, crowding, polysubstance use, drink spiking).
Review site layout (10’×10’, 10’×20’, 20’×20’, or custom footprint).
Define role clarity with medical, EMS, security, ADA, and operations.
Establish communication pathways (radio call-signs, escalation ladders, quiet channels for sensitive issues).
Set realistic service levels based on crowd dynamics and venue capacity.

What Organizers Receive Before the Event

  • Comprehensive Harm Reduction Plan — written blueprint with services, staffing, footprints, hours, and communication protocols.
  • Risk Map & Mitigation Checklist — tailored guidance addressing environmental and substance-related risks (heat, dehydration, crowding, polysubstance, DFSA).
  • Training Options for Staff & Security — micro-trainings covering overdose response, naloxone use, de-escalation, ADA accommodations, and compassionate interventions.
  • Metrics & Reporting Framework — clear plan for how data will be captured, analyzed, and reported in the post-event debrief.

Creating a Customized Harm Reduction Plan

One size never fits all. We co-design a harm reduction plan tailored to your event’s characteristics and risks. Plans may include targeted communication (pre-event messaging, signage, informed-consent language), specialized drug education, discreet drug-checking options (where appropriate), roaming outreach, and a right-sized sanctuary space.

We establish de-escalation protocols so harm reduction responders make first contact in non-violent matters, and define thresholds for warm handoffs between peers, medics/EMS, and security. Where necessary, we also outline clear boundaries with law enforcement to ensure compassionate, non-coercive responses.

Note: Harm Reduction Circle is not a medical provider; we coordinate closely with on-site medical teams and EMS.

Step 2: On-Site Services & Deployment

What We Bring to the Events We Serve

Harm Reduction Circle delivers essential services to vulnerable populations, prioritizing safety, outreach, & direct support. Each of our unique focus areas & programs aim to address emerging needs through preventive initiatives & rapid-response actions, ensuring lasting impact via education & resource distribution. In collaboration with healthcare providers, social services, local agencies, emergency & medical personnel, & with community partners, we connect individuals to vital education, life-saving resources, & critical support services.

Once the event is underway, Harm Reduction Circle puts your custom plan into action. Our presence is highly adaptable, combining sanctuary care, roaming outreach, real-time coordination, and education to keep guests safe, comfortable, and supported.

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Inner Circle Sanctuary

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A calm, judgment-free refuge staffed by trained peers for grounding, hydration, and supportive conversation. Soft lighting, comfortable seating, and low-stimulus zones promote decompression and stabilization. We provide non-clinical care and warm handoffs to medical staff when indicated.

Size Options Available:

  • 10’×10’
  • 10’×20’
  • 20’×20’
  • Custom

Mobile Peer Outreach

Not every guest will walk up to a booth or enter a sanctuary space — which is why meeting people where they are is central to our harm reduction approach. Our Mobile Peer Outreach teams move throughout the venue, creating approachable points of contact in the flow of the event. By circulating through high-traffic areas, checking in with attendees, and offering supplies directly, we can intervene early, reduce risks before they escalate, and connect with individuals who may never otherwise seek support. Mobile Peer Outreach ensures harm reduction is woven into the fabric of the event, rather than confined to a single location.

Outreach on Foot:

Peer teams circulate the venue, offering harm reduction supplies, friendly check-ins, and supportive conversations in real time.


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Outreach using Onewheel/PEVs:

 For large venues, up to three Onewheels or personal electric vehicles expand our coverage and efficiency. They allow us to reach more areas quickly, carry supplies across the site, and maintain a visible presence that reassures attendees.

Benefits of Onewheel/PEVs:
  • Rapid response in emergencies.
  • High visibility, increasing attendee awareness of harm reduction presence.
  • Ability to carry and distribute supplies across large sites.
  • Extends reach into harder-to-access areas (parking lots, camping zones, medical overflow).
  • Creates a roaming, approachable presence for attendees hesitant to visit a booth.

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Peer Support & Education

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Our peer teams—most with lived or living experience—provide non-judgmental support, normalize help-seeking, and share practical strategies for safer use (hydration, pacing, buddy systems, overdose recognition).

Our volunteer pool is carefully screened and trained through in-house modules on overdose response, de-escalation, ADA support, and compassionate engagement. Teams are supervised by experienced leads to ensure quality and safety.

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Trip Sitting Support

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Peers provide grounded, non-directive presence for attendees experiencing overwhelming effects from psychedelics or other substances. Focus is on calm environment, reassurance, hydration, and orientation. Red-flag symptoms trigger immediate escalation to medical. This service can also be paired with staff micro-trainings on when to seek help and how to support peers.

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Overdose Response Training, Certification & Distribution

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Certified trainers deliver 3–10 minute micro-trainings on recognizing opioid overdose and administering naloxone. Participants receive take-home Narcan® (naloxone) and a training confirmation card. Training emphasizes dose timing, rescue breathing, recovery position, and medical handoffs.

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Drug Checking & Test Strips

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Test Strips

When requested and where permitted, we provide reagent-based drug checking in a discreet setting, paired with education on limitations and safer-use practices. Test strips available for:

  • Fentanyl
  • Xylazine
  • Medetomidine
  • Nitazenes
  • Benzodiazepines
Reagent Test Kits

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3-in-1 Drink Spike Test Kits

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Distribution of Essential Supplies

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We stock over 20 practical items to keep people regulated and safe, including earplugs, masks, hand sanitizer, sunscreen, lip balm, electrolyte packets, cooling towels, wipes, menstrual products, condoms, and snacks (including vegan options).

Depending on venue policy, we may also provide water and hot coffee/tea.

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Printed Materials

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Concise, visually clear brochures and handouts covering a variety of topics, including overdose response, naloxone use, stimulant/psychedelic basics, heat illness, consent, DFSA awareness, and bystander support.

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Tailored Trainings & Community Workshops

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Education is one of the most powerful harm reduction tools we bring to nightlife and festival settings. Harm Reduction Circle offers both tailored training for event staff and community-facing workshops that build capacity, reduce risks, and foster safer environments. Each training is trauma-informed, interactive, and adapted to the realities of nightlife culture and event operations.

Community Workshops: ***complete this list***
We also provide education directly to attendees and community members through interactive workshops and outreach. Topics may include:
  • Safer Nightlife Practices (hydration, pacing, buddy systems, safer partying strategies)
  • Drug Checking & Substance Awareness (how to interpret test strips, risks of polysubstance use)
Staff & Crew Trainings: ***complete this list***
Before or during events, we deliver focused training for venue staff, security teams, production crews, and volunteers. Sessions can be as short as 15-minute micro-trainings or expanded to full workshops, covering:
  • Overdose Response & Naloxone Administration (with take-home Narcan®)
  • De-escalation & Conflict Resolution strategies for intoxicated or distressed guests
  • ADA Awareness & Guest Support for accessibility needs
  • Compassionate Interventions that reduce stigma and promote dignity

These trainings ensure staff feel prepared and confident to respond to emergencies, creating a culture of care across every department.

Real-Time Multi-Department Coordination (integration with ops/med/sec/ADA/LE)

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We act as the bridge between harm reduction, medical, EMS, security, ADA teams, and law enforcement. Ideally, harm reduction makes initial contact with non-violent concerns, de-escalate early, and supports intoxicated individuals with compassion—reducing unnecessary security interventions and freeing medical care to focus on true emergencies.

De-Escalation via Initial Contact

Our trained peer teams make the first contact in non-violent situations involving intoxication, distress, or conflict. We use trauma-informed, non-coercive approaches—active listening, grounding techniques, and offering supportive options—before security is engaged. This reduces escalation, preserves guest dignity, and supports a safer event environment. Security is brought in as partners only when necessary, ensuring a compassionate first response.

Warm Handoffs

We establish clear thresholds for when harm reduction peers transfer care to medical or security. If someone requires clinical evaluation, our staff escort them directly to medics/EMS while maintaining privacy and reassurance. Likewise, if medical stabilizes someone who would benefit from peer support rather than continued medical attention, they can hand the individual back to our team for ongoing monitoring in a safe space. This bidirectional flow ensures continuity of care without stigma.

Accessibility & ADA Support

Our staff proactively monitor accessibility, assisting with mobility, wayfinding, and accommodations in real time. By offering direct support—such as guiding guests through crowds, helping with seating adjustments, or relaying needs to ADA coordinators—we ensure events remain inclusive and safe for all attendees.

Continuous Safety Checks

Our staff proactively monitor accessibility, assisting with mobility, wayfinding, and accommodations in real time. By offering direct support—such as guiding guests through crowds, helping with seating adjustments, or relaying needs to ADA coordinators—we ensure events remain inclusive and safe for all attendees.

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Sexual Health & Wellness

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We discreetly distribute condoms, lubricant, and educational resources on consent and safer sex, tailoring delivery for the event context.

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STI/HIV Testing & Counseling

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Through partners such as the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), certain events may host mobile testing units staffed by trained counselors who provide testing, brief counseling, and immediate linkage to care.

Availability depends on partner scheduling and venue permissions.

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Optional Enhancements

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  • Cell Phone Charging Station
  • Kandi Making Station
  • Lost & Found Service
  • Lost-Child Landmark
  • Health & Safety
  • Take-Home Reagent Test Kits (retail)
  • Needle Exchange / Sharps Disposal (discreet options)
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Additional services

We offer more!

Mail-Order Distribution

Proving direct-to-consumer mail-order distribution of Naloxone & drug checking tools to ensure life-saving resources are readily accessible; even if they are unable to come to us.

Meals on Onewheels OC

Delivering nutritional meals, harm reduction supplies, hygiene products, & basic necessities to unhoused individuals in hard-to-reach areas using Onewheels & other PEVs.

Tailored Training Sessions

Creating customized in-person & online trainings for individuals, organizations, & businesses alike to increase awareness, reduce drug-related harm, & promote community safety.