Stay Connected to What's Next

The 2026 SAFE Spring Social wrapped last weekend with 240 attendees — our largest community event of the year. Six trained peer specialists worked the floor, two Naloxone kits were distributed, and a record number of attendees signed up for our newsletter and event-interest list. Highlights: Coming up Our summer event slate is published on the events page. The next one is the 2026 Mid-Year Donor Roundtable in Denver — open to any contributor at the Bronze tier or higher.

Q1 2026 was a milestone quarter for SAFE giving. Recurring donors now fund 38% of our peer-training budget — a structural shift from event-driven fundraising to sustained, predictable program support. To every donor who set up a monthly contribution this quarter: thank you. Predictable funding lets us plan multi-year cohorts, commit to university partnerships, and embed peers at events months in advance instead of week-of. What recurring donations fund Learn more about giving or set up a monthly contribution.

Our 2026 peer support specialist cohort is fully funded across five Colorado counties: Adams, Denver, Boulder, Weld, and Mesa. 150 spots, all COPA-approved, free for residents 18+. This cohort represents the largest single-year expansion of peer-driven recovery support in the SAFE history. Trained peers will embed at events, on campuses, and in community settings, making sober presence visible where it matters most. Why peer-led? Lived experience is the credential. Peer specialists meet people where they are, not in a clinical office, but at the venue, on the campus quad, in the green room before a show. The 2026 curriculum doubles...

Staying sober doesn't require hiding from the world—it means learning to embrace discomfort, building supportive community, creating a genuinely fun life, and confidently bringing your own non-alcoholic drinks to any event.

This blog post examines addiction through the lens of harm reduction in nightlife spaces, distinguishing between physical dependency and behavioral addiction while arguing that understanding both dimensions is essential for effective intervention in an era of increasingly dangerous synthetic opioids like fentanyl.