What Happened to DanceSafe? Founder Emanuel Sferios on Centralization, Corruption, Chapter Autonomy, and Harm Reduction Organizing

Emanuel Sferios, DanceSafe's founder, argues that the organization abandoned its grassroots, peer-led harm reduction model and became a centralized, corporation-like nonprofit. He attributes the decline to executives' refusal to defend improved fentanyl test strips against what he describes as an intimidation tactic, the removal of chapter autonomy, restrictions on peer education and naloxone distribution, costly reliance on lawyers and contractors, favoritism, weak governance, and mission creep. He recounts the 2023 chapter revolt, his termination and dispute over contractual compensation, and the creation of Grassroots Harm Reduction as a decentralized network that returns product revenue to member organizations. He also criticizes DanceSafe's later relationship with Bunk Police, sales of BTNX strips and supplement packs, and replacement of his MDMA neuroscience slideshow with allegedly AI-generated content. He asks the new board to redirect the historic URL, apologize, restore chapter autonomy, and reform its partnerships, while closing with a reflection on forgiveness.