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Year Two Impact Report 2022–2023 | Fireside Project
Year Two · 2022–2023

Impact
Report

"…Another year of real-time support when time doesn't seem real…"

0 Conversations
0 Volunteers
0 Volunteer Hours
0 Call Volume Growth

Letter from our Executive Director

"During our first two years, we set out to explore whether a national helpline for psychedelics — the first of its kind — could become a foundational part of the psychedelic ecosystem. We are pleased to report that it has."

Joshua White — Founder & Executive Director

Our Foundation

Name, Mission & Vision

Our Name

The name "Fireside Project" was inspired by the feeling of sitting around a fire — experiencing community, connection, and openness. As long as people have been people, we've gathered around the flames. At Fireside Project, we look to our shared ancestry beside the fire as a way to light our path forward to a more loving, interconnected world.

Mission

To help people minimize the risks of their psychedelic experiences through compassionate, accessible, and culturally responsive peer support — and by educating the public and furthering psychedelic research.

Vision

A Beloved Psychedelic Community where people of all identities are represented, welcomed, and celebrated — with the skills to keep each other safe as they navigate their psychedelic experiences.

Year Two Achievements

Highlights

95%

Caller Satisfaction

Of callers felt heard, supported, and understood — and would recommend us to loved ones.

100%

Identity-Matched Support

Military veteran, BIPOC, and/or transgender callers can be matched with a volunteer sharing that identity.

50+

Diverse Volunteers

Volunteers trained who are BIPOC, transgender, and/or military veterans — ready to support callers sharing their identity.

~30%

Complementary Care

Of callers also speak to a clinician or integration coach — we complement, not replace, other support.

"I am trans, and was able to talk to a trans volunteer. This wasn't necessary to get me through the experience, but it really gave me an increased sense of safety and connection."

— Transgender Caller, Post-Call Survey

Appendix A · Data Insights

By the Numbers

Conversations in Our First Two Years

How Callers Reached Us

Calls by Type

Substances Consumed

Caller Age Ranges

Science & Scholarship

Our Thriving Research Platform

Publication in Psychedelic Medicine

Co-authored with Dr. Rachel Yehuda, Dr. Mollie Pleet, and Dr. Joseph Zamaria. A study of 850 callers shows our support line reduces ER reliance and lowers risks associated with unsupervised psychedelic use.

Three IRB-Approved Studies

Examining healing outcomes and risk mitigation for BIPOC callers (U of Ottawa), military veterans (OHSU), and transgender callers (UCSF) — each with an identity-matched volunteer.

Volunteer-Led Research

Fireside volunteers conducting their own work: an M.Sc. study on burnout and resiliency tools for care providers, and a PsyD dissertation on callers' ketamine integration experiences.

In Their Words

What Callers Are Saying

"This was an oasis in the desert."

— Caller Testimonial

"I needed someone to understand. That happened."

— Caller Testimonial

"What you are doing is sacred work, and it is not an exaggeration to say that I was saved by it."

— Caller Testimonial

"I am trans, and was able to talk to a trans volunteer. It really gave me an increased sense of safety and connection."

— Transgender Caller, Post-Call Survey

Media & Recognition

Our Work Was Featured

  • WIRED
  • ESSENCE
  • Forbes
  • Lucid News
  • TechCrunch
  • Washington Post
  • Brookings
  • VICE
  • Benzinga
  • Filter
  • Psychedelic Spotlight

Also presented at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Columbia University, University of Virginia, SAMHSA, Naropa University, and the Nikean Foundation — and spoken on 10 podcasts including Psychedelics Today and Psychedelic Medicine.

What's Next

Looking Forward to Year Three & Beyond

Our vision is a Beloved Psychedelic Community, where people of all identities are represented, welcomed, and celebrated. Here are the milestones ahead.

  1. 25,000 Conversations

    Triple our conversation volume and train 150 new volunteers, at least half from marginalized communities.

  2. Expand Our Outreach Infrastructure

    Reach over two million people via TikTok, festivals, college campuses, high schools, and a community engagement platform.

  3. Expand Our Equity Initiative

    Create pathways into the psychedelic field for people from marginalized communities through hiring, training, and targeted outreach.

  4. Support Oregon & Colorado

    Partner with training and facilitation centers as Measure 109 and Colorado's similar legislation roll out.

  5. Offer Fireside Circles

    Launch virtual, free, confidential integration circles facilitated by our trained peer supporters.

  6. Improve Our Mobile App

    Make the app easier to use mid-experience and expand psychedelic educational content and community features.

  7. Launch Psychedelic Citizenship Series

    Courses equipping our community with skills to thrive — including how to hold space during and after a psychedelic experience.

With Deep Gratitude

Thank You to Our Donors

Our hearts overflow with gratitude for those who believe in our work and our mission.

$100,000 & Up

  • Anonymous
  • Sandy & Joe Samberg
  • Michael & Lisa Cotton
  • Austin & Gabriela Hearst
  • Riaz Valani
  • The Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation
  • Anonymous DAF
  • Jeff Greenberg

$25,000 – $100,000

  • Dr. Bronner's (Founding Donor)
  • River Styx Foundation
  • Will Sterling
  • Wild Gifting Institute
  • Jeffrey Walker
  • Joshua Mattefy
  • Steve & Genevieve Jurvetson

$10,000 – $25,000

  • Beckley Psytech
  • Nue Life
  • Educational Foundation of America
  • JLS Fund
  • Kate Bednarski
  • Five Stepping Stones

We're just getting started.

Our goal is to reach over one million conversations by the end of the decade. You can be part of it.

Call or Text Now Support Our Work

62-FIRESIDE  ·  623-473-7433  ·  Call or Text, 24/7

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