The last panel of the summit was moderated by Kelcie Boring. The panel included Gabe Ossa of USC Events and Concious Crew; Stuart Williscroft of Dance Safe; and Susan Kingston from the first panel. This panel was mainly to inform people of their options for harm reduction when preparing and attending any festival. Did you know that there are places you can go to chill out? Well now you do.
They are monitored by people like Taylor and members of the Conscious Crew. Gabe told us that he has created these areas by following the teachings of the Zendo Project, which is a psychedelic harm reduction tactic that reduces the need for psychiatric hospitalizations. It’s best explained by their mission statement that you can see here.
Echoing that sense of community, the summit ended with a speech from Taylor Losey that we will not dare try to summarize because it was so emotional and evocative of how a rave community can effect someones life for the best. Taylor shared:
Hi everyone! My name is Taylor, I’m a registered nurse. I just wanted to speak for a moment about safety and sustainability in our dance music community. Last June, when I first began volunteering with USC events and the conscious crew, I really had no idea what I was getting into. I’ve dedicated my life as a nurse to helping others but as a child I left home at the very young age of 15. I traveled the country going to raves and I’ve seen rave and dance music culture in most major cities, including Detroit, Miami, Los Angeles and of course Seattle.
I think something that is of paramount importance as we stand at a precipice together, which is an important moment with a potential for great change, it is important for us to see elements of community and accountability brought back to EDM culture. Years ago, parties may have had capacities of a few hundred people, they were held in warehouses in industrial districts or on far away pieces of nearly deserted farm land. We drove long distances together as friends and we always traveled in groups, we never left each other’s sides.
Today we are seeing a different kind of party, with many big name DJs playing a single event held in the city which will last 8 hours and bring 10,000 attendees. In some ways, despite PLUR culture and our small friend groups, we seem to have taken some of the family atmosphere and accountability out of the party.
WE ARE A FAMILY. The only way for this culture to survive is for us to work together. We need to work together to become educated and aware, to learn together. We need to advocate for each other and protect each other.
Working with Conscious Crew I’ve taken care of hundreds of people who have gotten overwhelmed and sick because of drugs and alcohol. I’ve seen people in my safe room, brought in alone, and I’ve seen people come in with multiple friends to sit with them, talk to them, encourage them and remind them that everything is going to be ok. I can guarantee you that the majority of the people who need to be transported to the hospital are those who come in alone. Perhaps it’s because they took an increased amount of drugs or alcohol, with no friends to help them stay safe, but I think it’s more than that. People are more capable of being their best selves around people who support them. Healing comes more quickly for those who are not alone.
We cannot accept death as an inevitability in our community. It is not ok. We need to come together to support and protect each other or our community will not survive.
Please help us to spread the word. ALWAYS travel to events with friends. Look out for each other. Encourage each other to do the right thing. You’ve come here today because you are a leader in this community, because you want to make a difference. Let’s make a difference in our community together.
Our hope for all of this is to NEVER again have to write an article about one of our brothers or sisters passing away for something so preventable when equipped with the right information. We want this to be a safe and responsible community. We can’t thank Chad Anderson, Founder & CEO of USC Events, enough for working with the city of Seattle to put this whole thing together. We also want to thank the panel of experts who came to provide us with real knowledge of the harm reduction landscape. But most of all, we want to thank all those pro-active ravers who came to attend; You are what is going to make our community safe and healthy.
PLURR: PEACE, LOVE, UNITY, RESPECT, & RESPONSIBILITY
Important things happen in Pacific Northwest nightlife, and DMNW will send you alerts!
Phillip was raised on so many different genres of music, it has given him a unique perspective into the ever evolving music scene. Trance music began defining his life at the young age of 14, but thoroughly enjoys any type of music equally. He sees the music as an escape from the daily doldrums of life and says music can change a persons life in an instant pulling from his own experiences. His only goal in life is to share wonderful music with people and take electronic music to a higher plain with more accountability and creating a safer environment for his friends.
