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Reaching Further: Expanding Street Outreach Efforts to Downtown Peoria
Saturday, October 17th, 2026
A New City, a Familiar Mission
This weekend, five members of our organization, Lucas, Evan, Quentin, Parker, and Nick, traveled to downtown Peoria for an afternoon of direct street outreach. Starting at around noon, we had the opportunity to spend our afternoon handing out food, hygiene supplies, and Narcan to unhoused and low-income residents.
We were inspired to target this population after Quentin, one of our founding members, recently started medical school at UIC-Peoria, where he frequently encounters homeless, low-income, and disadvantaged members of this community in need of support. Seeing the possibility for a large impact in this area, we decided to make the worthwhile trip to bring our services and compassion to this area.
It was our first time working in Peoria, and it turned out to be our largest street outreach effort to date. In two hours of outreach, we encountered around 65 residents and served 50 of them, each with a bag of food and supplies that our team had assembled ahead of time.
Most of our work happens in McLean County, where we have had time to learn the area and build relationships. Going somewhere new meant we did not know who we would meet or how we would be received. A community outside our usual reach can feel harder to connect with. However, what we found in Peoria was that the same approach still works: show up, offer something useful, and listen to what people have to say.
[Photo(s): Assembling the bags of supplies before heading out]
Three Stops Downtown
We kept our route to the downtown area and made three stops.
Pathway Ministries. We started here. It gave us a chance to settle in, introduce ourselves, and get a sense of the area before moving on.
[Photo(s): First stop near Pathway Ministries]
CityLink Bus Station. Our second stop was the downtown transit station, where people come and go throughout the day.
[Photo(s): Outreach at the CityLink Bus Station]
Peoria Public Library, downtown. We finished near the library, a place many people rely on for shelter from the weather, a place to sit, and access to resources.
[Photo(s): Final stop near the downtown library]
By the end of the afternoon, every bag we brought was gone.
The People We Met
Reaching more people in need always matters, but the conversations are what stay with us. Rashad, Craig, Dorian, and Ron each took time to thank us. Their gratitude was sincere, and it reminded us that a bag of food and supplies means more when it comes with a few minutes of real conversation.
We met Ellen and Jamie, who were out with their young daughter. They were grateful for the help, and meeting them reminded us that homelessness and food insecurity affect families, not just individuals. DJ was young and full of energy. He talked with us at length about his interest in where technology and artificial intelligence meet, and his enthusiasm was hard to miss. Conversations like that remind us that the people we serve have ideas, goals, and interests that go well beyond their current circumstances.
Residents such as Craig also spoke with us about his Christian faith and how it has carried him through difficult times. He told us that prayer can be a powerful part of street outreach, and that including it can mean a great deal to the people we meet. We took that to heart. Outreach is not only about what we hand out. It is also about meeting people where they are, including in what gives them strength.
More Than a Bag of Food
One conversation stood out. A man we met thanked us for coming, then handed his bag back. He explained that he is managing an ongoing health condition, and his doctor had told him to avoid excess salt. Much of what we carry, from beef sticks and crackers to pretzels and mac and cheese, is shelf-stable and high in sodium.
He made the right call for his health, and we respected it. It also showed us something important. People experiencing homelessness are often managing chronic health conditions with very few choices about what they eat. Following a doctor's advice is much harder when your next meal depends on what someone else hands you.
This is why community health and health advocacy sit alongside our core work. Food and hygiene supplies meet an immediate need. Listening to people describe their health, respecting the guidance they have been given, and thinking about how our supplies affect them is part of serving this population well. His choice has us thinking about how future bags can better account for residents with dietary restrictions.
Bringing Narcan to Peoria
Narcan distribution is at the center of what The Lumina Project does. Narcan (naloxone) can reverse an opioid overdose, and it works best in the hands of the people most likely to be there when one happens. We have distributed Narcan in our past outreach, and we chose to carry that work into Peoria.
Every person we served received two Narcan devices, for a total of 100. A second dose can matter, since some overdoses need more than one. We also distributed 50 CPR face shield masks, so that someone responding to an emergency has a barrier while giving rescue breaths.
Every device we hand out is a chance for someone to save a life, whether a friend's, a family member's, or a stranger's.
What Was in the Bags
We assembled 50 bags in total: 30 general bags and 20 bags with additional items for women. Each bag included a mix of food, drinks, and personal care items, such as:
Food and drinks: Gatorade, water, Cheez-Its, oatmeal cream pies, trail mix, raisins, beef jerky sticks, mac and cheese, Pirate's Booty, pretzels, peanut butter, Goldfish, pistachios, Pop-Tarts, granola bars, and pastry crisps
Personal care: shampoo, lotion, chapstick, toothbrushes, and toothpaste
Harm reduction: Narcan
The 20 female-specific bags also included tampons and bathing cloths.
Distribution Totals
Item | Quantity |
Food and drinks | |
8 oz. water bottles | 160 |
Little Debbie's Oatmeal Cream Pies | 100 |
Kars Sweet 'N Salty Mix | 100 packages |
Sun Valley California Raisins | 100 packages |
Jalapeño Beef Sticks | 96 |
Nature's Garden Probiotic Mega Mix | 96 |
Mini Muffin Bites | 80 packages |
Pirate's Booty | 70 packages |
Protein Pop-Tarts | 64 |
8 oz. Gatorade bottles | 50 |
Goldfish | 50 packages |
Signature K Strawberry Pastry Crisps | 50 |
Cheez-Its | 48 packages |
Nature Valley Protein Chewy Granola Bars | 48 |
Pistachios | 42 packages |
Dot's Homestyle Pretzels | 40 packages |
Macaroni and Cheese | 24 boxes |
Alani Cookies and Cream Protein Shakes | 24 bottles |
Personal care | |
Toothbrushes | 100 |
Tampax Tampons | 100 |
Toothpaste | 50 tubes |
Eco Amenities Body Lotion | 50 containers |
Eco Amenities Shampoo | 50 containers |
Chapstick | 40 containers |
Med-line Ready Bath Fresh Bathing Cloths | 30 (8-packs) |
Harm reduction and safety | |
Narcan | 100 devices |
CPR Face Shield Masks | 50 |
Getting Ready for Winter
We asked the people we met what would help them most, and a clear theme came up again and again: winter. Many residents asked for cold weather clothing, including stocking caps, gloves, hand warmers, and warm layers.
Central Illinois winters are long, and nights below freezing are common. For someone sleeping outside or in an unheated space, these items are basic protection. We are taking that feedback seriously as we plan for the colder months ahead. Items that were most requested included: stocking caps, gloves, hand warmers, and warm clothing for winter weather.
Disclaimer
None of this would have been possible without the support behind it. We were able to support these efforts exclusively with food pantry donations from our community partners, internal funding, and independent donations, excluding funds from community grants. We are extremely grateful for this support as it allows us to extend our outreach efforts past our jurisdiction in McLean County, and reach people in need well beyond our home community.
[Photo: The volunteer team after the event]
Looking Ahead
Peoria showed us that the need in Central Illinois does not stop at the McLean County line. In a single afternoon, we encountered around 65 people, and there were certainly more we did not reach.
We do not yet know when or whether we will return to Peoria. What we do know is that this trip showed what is possible when we step outside our usual area. People who may seem out of reach are not. Wherever our outreach takes us next, we will bring the same approach we brought to Peoria: show up prepared, listen closely, and treat every person with dignity.
Names of the residents referred to in this post have been changed to protect their privacy.
