LP Board Members Strike Partnership with Chestnut Health Systems for Future Outreach

Tuesday, May 6th, 2025

Early this month, board members met once again with Chestnut Health Systems to continue strengthening our invaluable community partnerships. This meeting in particular, co-founders Parker & Quentin completed Narcan training co-led by Prevention Coordinator, Randi Derrig, and Community Health Specialist, Colin Witt. This instructional session covered info regarding opioid overdose responses, the administration of Narcan, and the broader context of drug dependency to prepare our team for direct outreach efforts.

In addition to the hands-on training, we discussed collaborative opportunities with Chestnut's team to advance our community-based harm reduction initiative. Cat Hayes, Recovery Support Specialist and active member of the McLean County Recovery Oriented Systems of Care (ROSC), also joined the discussion to offer insights from the recovery support field. Our conversation focused on aligning goals and identifying areas where LP can support existing community health initiatives, particularly in education and accessibility efforts.

Newly acquired resources for distribution

Looking to the future, the Lumina Project has committed to an informal partnership with Chestnut, offering access to expanded funding and a plethora of drug overdose prevention resources to distribute throughout the community. These newly acquired items include but are not limited to: Fentanyl, Xylazine, Benzo, & Nitazene Testing Kits, Deterra Drug Deactivation Pouches, CPR face shields, secure recreational drug storage bags, as well as increased sourcing options for Naloxone. Furthermore, we were also referred to connect with God's Mission Ministry as a potential partner/example to follow for our upcoming direct distribution engagements. We are excited by these promising opportunities to expand our impact and deepen our contribution to public health and harm reduction work throughout McLean County.