In Monticello, Illinois, Jan Gantz and Stephen Lyons, a married couple residing in Piatt County, made a generous donation of $100,000 last Thursday, effectively saving the substance abuse recovery program at the Piatt County Mental Health Center.
The program — the Recovery Oriented System of Care — provides counseling and social events for people working towards recovery.
For Gantz and Lyons, the issue of addiction hits close to home.
Gantz expressed their motivation, saying, “We have lost a grandson to an overdose. To his siblings, Harper, Sage, and Finn, I want to say that this donation serves as a memorial to your brother.”
The Mental Health Center applied to the state for 2026 funding for its ROSC program, but its application was denied.
Tony Kirkman, executive director at the center, said the program was ready to shut down completely.
“We were in the process of dismantling the program at that time. We were getting rid of old materials, and our staff member was even looking for other employment,” Kirkman explained.
That’s the moment Gantz and Lyons knew, they had to step up and help.
“We couldn’t believe that something so important to people’s wellbeing was being declined,” Gantz said.
Her and her husband’s donation will keep the program afloat for the next year, helping the center provide services like the free Narcan boxes found in every town in the county.
“I believe that because of that, we’ve had zero opioid related fatalities in the past year,” Kirkman said.
The center will reapply for state funding next year.
