If you were to poll every psychedelic user in the United States and ask them if there was ever a time they were having a challenging trip and needed someone to talk to, or if they ever had an intense psychedelic experience that they had trouble integrating afterwards, my guess is that it would be well over 50%, perhaps even 75% or higher. psychedelics
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There are a lot of ways that people can find help in these situations, including trip sitters, psychedelic-friendly therapists, having a close friend you can call, or in-person offerings at festivals like Zendo tents, but none of these supports are available instantaneously, free, and agnostic to location and social circles.
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Enter Fireside Project. Launched on April 14th of 2021, they provide free, confidential, peer-to-peer emotional support by phone and text message. Their Psychedelic Peer Support Line is a service people can call or text for immediate psychedelic support, whether they are in the throes of a difficult trip, supporting a friend having a difficult trip, having a hard time with the ripples of an intense prior journey, or just need someone to talk to. The line is staffed by volunteer psychedelic peer support specialists who are trained in providing a safe space and a helping hand to the psychonaut in need. psychedelics
I sat down recently over Zoom with co-founders Hanifa Nayo Wahington and Joshua White to discuss the intention behind Fireside Project and how such a novel and important endeavor has fared since going out into the world.

Thanks so much for speaking with us Hanifa and Josh. Fireside Project was a long time in the making, and it finally launched this year. I’m curious, how has the launch been?

Hanifa: It’s been a huge learning experience. It’s been really phenomenal to launch a service that’s so unique psychedelics and is driven by peer support that’s really helping people. To think on the very first shift of the support line, we were on shift to receive those first calls and texts, it was a really special feeling to feel that we are switching on to help all these people who need support and connection. The people who call us went from having no place to go to having a crew of volunteers ready to support and witness and be with them in this way. It feels really special to be part of something like that and know that we are helping people.
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As founders of a startup project like this, we are wearing lots of different hats all the time on the backend. It can be stressful, but it’s a wonderful invitation to seek that balance.

Josh: I would say it has been a profoundly beautiful and extremely challenging experience. The current number of calls is around 800, which is a pretty large number, and when you think about what each of those calls meant, I think the impact is off the charts. We’re also very excited to be collaborating on a study with UC San Francisco and Dr. Rachel Yehuda at Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine that explores our risk reduction potential. psychedelics

Following every conversation we send out post-call surveys to ask about our callers’ experience with us. About 70% of people say we helped them reduce their psychological distress. Around 50% say that they would have been physically or psychologically harmed but for their conversation. Around 30% said they would have gone to the ER or called 911 if they didn’t reach out to Fireside Project. Those are pretty staggering numbers, and they highlight for me the yin yang of our mission- to help people reduce risk and fulfil potential of their psychedelic experiences. psychedelics

When you create a safe container for people, that reduces their risk. And, having that safe container provides people with the opportunity to turn towards their experience and see it for what it is, which is an unparalleled opportunity to learn about themselves and to fall in love with every part of themselves.

That’s beautiful and leads me to my next question. You mentioned harm reduction, and I know your volunteers go through a lot of training before taking calls, but how much are they taught to just hold space for people, versus helping them to lean into their experience, versus guiding that experience? Where do you fall on that whole spectrum of harm reduction, space holding, trip sitting, and guiding?