Harm Reduction Support & Staffing
NEST is a Southern California based harm reduction training, consulting and direct care provider serving events, communities and workers on the frontlines of secondary trauma. NEST provides strategic consulting services for events at any scale, and a proprietary compassionate care training model to providers, operators and the public.
We are dedicated to building, teaching, and implementing sustainable harm reduction principles across industries worldwide.
We have a dedicated team of licensed mental health providers, trauma-informed harm reductionists and event production professionals who are committed to creating a more sustainable work environment and an overall safer, more successful event.
Interested in joining the NEST team as harm reduction staff at our events? Apply HERE.
NEST Harm Reduction will be providing harm reduction education and support services at Desert Hearts Festival at Lake Perris State Recreation Area in Lake Perris, CA from May 4th – May 8th 2023.
If you would like to be part of NEST’s Desert Hearts Harm Reduction Team, please apply here.
Our application will be open until Friday, February 24th 2023 at 5:00pm PST
Our Values
Increase Wellness, Reduce Liability
We are equally adept at navigating the needs of attendees at large music festivals as we are providing white glove services at private events where a light touch approach is desired by an intimate community. NEST will provide a consistent level of care and professionalism to each project, regardless of size, location and type of event.
NEST offers pre-event and on-site services and trainings that address the most common and the most serious issues that impact events:
Assault, Harassment, Sexual Assault
Crisis & Emergency Scenarios
Liaise with Local Medical & Security
Altered States & Substance Use
Staff Burnout & Compassion Fatigue
Mental Health Consultation
Our event consulting, on-site services, and trainings are highly effective at mitigating traumatic outcomes, minimizing risk, and increasing overall satisfaction. We can provide:
Preparedness Trainings for Staff and Crew
Crisis Response Protocols
Harm Reduction Event Staffing
Direct Care Services to Guests & Staff
Collaboration with Law Enforcement Agencies & Other Safety Teams
Compassionate Leadership Training
Our Events Team
Under the seasoned leadership of NEST founder Erica Siegal, our events program is guided by an experienced and talented team with decades of combined experience in the field and at the forefront of trauma-informed safety and wellness services.
Bryan Griffith, Events Specialist
Bryan (he/him) brings decades of professional experience in corporate training, small business management and hospitality to the NEST events team. Bryan was introduced to the harm reduction community in 2015 at Burning Man and has been committed to providing safe space and harm reduction services to events, parties and communities large and small. Bryan helps manage the logistics and operations for NEST’s community outreach, public and private events. He has been working as a night attendant on the MAPS phase 3 clinical trials utilizing MDMA to treat treatment resistant PTSD. As artist, creator and enthusiast at heart, Bryan is a warm and welcoming presence at NEST.
Maria Katrina (Kat), Event Specialist
Kat (she/her) joined the NEST team in November 2019. She is a trauma-informed Wellness Educator and Consultant with a Master of Science in Nurse Education. She comes with a strong background in acute health care, hospital administration, ketamine treatment for mental health disorders, and event health & safety services, including emergency medical support and psychedelic harm reduction & integration.
After 13+ years of providing care to patients and their loved ones at the bedside, Kat has chosen to move forward from the traditional forms of clinical nursing while continuing to fulfill her unending desire to provide heartfelt care, healing spaces, and thoughtful education to her community and beyond. Most recently, she has been following her passions by providing psychedelic integration & wellness coaching to private clients; facilitating peer support groups for health care providers; offering CPR, first aid & Narcan trainings to the public; and offering harm reduction services and emotional support at public and private events around the world.
FROM THE NEST COMMUNITY
“Being able to provide support and services to not only attendees but also fellow staff makes the work that much more meaningful and effective. NEST is expanding the accessibility to harm reduction.”
“Working with Erica and her team at N.E.S.T. provides the safety and support our production team needs to get through the challenging, stressful moments to ensure a successful event.”
“Working under an integrative wellness care model with such a diverse team of caregivers has been a refreshing, insightful experience.”
“I’ve had the privilege to work with the compassionate care providers at NEST and am constantly blown away by the level of dedication and attention they bring to the work of harm reduction. Rock on, team!”
“I’m so grateful for this experience. I’ve known harm reduction is my passion for a long time, and NEST created space for me to explore my potential in this field and support my community in a way that felt so RIGHT. My values are super aligned with NEST’s values, and I could see that our team was leading with our values to pull all of this off!”
“I enthusiastically recommend this training! Erica’s presentation was clear and accessible, and she left me with tools to implement right away. Both the conceptual framework and practical guidance would be beneficial to anyone who is looking to compassionately hold space for people going through traumatic experiences – not just those working in the world of psychedelic harm reduction. I really appreciated the approach to self-care, especially the checklists and schematics for self-reflection and assessing one’s readiness to compassionately hold space for others.”
Join the NEST Network
Receive insights, training announcements, and event staffing opportunities.