SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND)- Two years ago, Tiara Standage’s mom died from a fentanyl overdose. In an effort to prevent future tragedies, she started Intricate Minds, a non-profit focused on harm reduction.
Inticate Minds offers fentanyl test strips, clean needles, Narcan, and other products to community members for free, with no questions asked. But as the organizations popularity has grown, so has the services they provide.
“We have a food pantry, we give away clothes, shoes as well,” said Standage. “We do free haircuts on Mondays, we have Warm Meal Wednesdays where we have a hot meal for people on Wednesdays, we have lots of support groups. We also have a public computer for people to fill out applications for Social Security or employment,”
Standage says her mentality is to provide resources as she finds a need in the community. This has led her to offer gun locks and free haircuts as her newest additions.
“There are a lot of places where unhoused people don’t feel welcome,” said Standage. “But they can come in here and its a homey environment so they can eat and chill and fulfill their needs and not feel rushed.”
This is particularly useful for people who don’t necessarily fit the requirements to attend particular organizations, need help outside of their operating hours, or want a more private environment.
Intricate Minds is open Monday-Thursday from noon-9pm. It is run entirely by donation and volunteers. If you are interested in attending one of their programs, or helping, you can check out their website, or email: tiara.intricateminds@gmail.com