Steven had many diverse interests, three of which are featured on his website: computers, futurism, and harm reduction. He grew up in a house surrounded by computers, and cut his teeth (almost literally) on a Commodore 64. He was programming by the time he was 11. Futurism came from his love of science fiction, technology, and the unusual. But his real passion was for harm reduction and mental health.
Steven lost many friends from overdoses and from suicide. He had his own mental health challenges that undoubtedly enabled him to relate to people who struggled with drugs and psychological problems. He was caring and supportive to friends in a nonjudgmental way. His passion led he and a friend Matt Zweig to found Safe Exchange Tampa in 2017, a nonprofit agency devoted to harm reduction.
The original plan for SET was to be a needle exchange for intravenous drug users. This is a population at high risk for contracting infectious diseases like hepatitis and HIV. They represent a major public health risk. But Florida law prohibits distribution of hypodermic needles, and it would take years of lobbying to get legislative approval to be a distribution site. This led to what may have been an even better idea. Confront the opioid death crisis by handing out Narcan to recovering drug abusers. This is a group likely to have contact with individuals who use opioids and are at risk for overdosing. A grant from the State of Florida that provided the Narcan enabled them to start distribution. Each Friday Steven would go to a methadone clinic in the Tampa Bay area to train clients in overdose first aid, and to hand out Narcan nasal spray. Those receiving the Narcan were encouraged to return the empty canisters for replacement, and as of this writing, SET Narcan has been used nearly 200 times.
Steven left SET and spent the next few years doing free lance web design work and sales. His last job was in sales for a moving and waste disposal company, College Hunks Hauling Junk. He really loved that job because he enjoyed talking to people. His comment about it was that he got to talk people into buying stuff and they thanked him for it.