The Albany Gazette - Zendo Exit Leaves Burning Man Harm Reduction Gap...New Temple of Harm Reduction Launches Urgent Fundraiser

The fundraiser arrives at a pivotal moment for the Black Rock City community. On June 1, 2026, the Zendo Project announced it would not provide peer safety support services for psychedelic harm reduction at Burning Man this year, ending a 14-year run that began in 2012. No comparable formal psychedelic peer-support service has publicly stepped forward. So the Temple's first project aims to address that need.

"Drugs are not going away, and the chaos in the world driving chaotic use is not going away either. What we can change is whether people know what they are putting in their bodies," said Mitchell Gomez, founder of the Temple of Harm Reduction. "The Temple treats that knowledge as inherent in spirituality. People deserve the freedom to explore consciousness with information, preparation, consent, care, and survival in mind. With Zendo stepping back from Burning Man this year, we have a responsibility to show up. This fundraiser is how we get there."

Saving a life is holy. Harm reduction is a ministry. The stranger is family. These are the core tenets of the Temple of Harm Reduction.

Gomez is the former Executive Director of DanceSafe and a longtime harm reduction advocate. He has been cited in Rolling Stone, The Guardian, and countless books, including Ben Westhoff's Fentanyl, Inc. and Rachel Nuwer's I Feel Love.

The Temple, launched April 5, 2026, has a long-range mission to build a nationwide network of drug checking labs that will test any substance a person plans to put into their body, from psilocybin mushrooms to street-market drugs to peptides and other injectables.

All data gathered will be available publicly to aid national understanding of the real consequences of fentanyl adulteration and the increased use of novel synthetic compounds. The Temple currently provides testing equipment and harm reduction coordinator services for events and is working with knowledgeable chemists to develop an at-home test kit that is vastly superior to prior options.

In addition to the Burning Man camp, the Temple is developing a free mobile app for release before the Aug. 30 launch of this year's Burn. The app guides anyone who encounters people in distress from psychedelics or other substances to the nearest available help and offers basic safety information for more common situations. On the playa, the Temple's camp will serve as a point of first contact and information hub, connecting people to the resources they need and to medical care when required.

Dirtwire, the genre-blending live electronic act central to the July 24 fundraiser, is known for its long history in the West Coast festival and psychedelic community. Show time is 8:00 PM PDT. Tickets are available at tixr.com/groups/midwaysf/events/dirtwire-at-888-garage-195240.

Event details

• What: Dirtwire and special guests, a fundraiser for the Temple of Harm Reduction

• When: Friday, July 24, 2026, 8:00 PM PDT

• Where: 888 Garage SF at The Midway, 888 Marin Street, San Francisco, CA

• Tickets: https://www.tixr.com/groups/midwaysf/events/dirtwire-at-888-garage-195240

• Beneficiary: 100% of proceeds support the Temple of Harm Reduction's Burning Man 2026 services and ongoing operations

About the Temple of Harm Reduction

The Temple of Harm Reduction, a religious organization, recognizes that helping people more safely explore as an intrinsically spiritual practice. The Temple's mission is to ensure that every person is free to make informed choices about what enters their body, and that no one dies because information was withheld. Learn more and get involved at templeofharmreduction.org

Press Contact:
Loretta Kalb PRX Digital
[email protected]

SOURCE: Church of Ambrosia

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

(T.Martin--TAG)