Black Heart Harm Reduction || 510-542-9526 EDUCATION,SUPPLIES,CONSULTING,PEER SUPPORT

WHY?

Harm Reduction has long been embraced by punks, anarchist zine writers, train-hopping squatters, and the boomer generation of LGBTQ+ individuals and drug users who endured the chaos and crisis of the mid-80s AIDS epidemic. In the 90s, Gen Xers faced arrests for pioneering what we now recognize as syringe exchanges.

While many agree that the popular choices among the goth and dark wave crowd are alcohol, cocaine, and sometimes acid or MDMA, what about those who keep their less popular activities secret? Would you abandon a friend, band mate, or lover if they confessed to using heroin or even Fentanyl regularly for weeks, months, or years? What if they appeared as healthy, with no signs of addiction? What if they overdosed and died because they feared losing their community, band, or friends?

I pondered these questions the day Luis Vasquez, Juan Mendez, and his partner Simone Ling were found dead in January 2024. As a DJ in the dark electronic scene, I urged my friends to ask questions, carry Narcan, and use test strips. I worked full-time as an FTIR Technician at a community Drug Checking Program. Their deaths were so preventable. After a deep conversation with a friend (thank you Alison/Zanias 🙂 ) about the importance of discussing Narcan, test strips, and drug overdoses in a community that often keeps these topics taboo, I realized that an organization focused on Harm Reduction Education tailored to the dark music community was vital and desperately needed.

-Mai