Nearly 1 in 5 Kansas adults have a diagnosable substance use disorder (SUD) involving alcohol or drugs, according to a report by the Kansas Health Institute and KU-CPPR(Center for Public Partnerships & Research).
Recovery Idol 2026 Dream On takes place on Saturday, September 19, at 6 pm at Wichita’s Century Two Concert Hall. KMUW’s Carla Eckels talked with John Agnew, clinical care manager of SACK — Substance Abuse Center of Kansas Crossover Recovery Center, about the event.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What is Recovery Idol?
Recovery Idol is actually a fundraiser for Crossover Recovery Center. We have three recovery centers here in Wichita, Hutchinson and El Dorado. The funds that we raise are used to help our participants and our programs be able to get work boots, work gloves, bus passes, birth certificates — those kinds of things that we can eliminate those barriers for them when they're trying to get their lives back together.
Explain the theme "Dream On."
The theme "Dream On" came up because this is our 12th Recovery Idol, and always one of our things was about dreaming, and we see people now who have dreams and we see them doing really good, and we just want to encourage them to “dream on,” so they can go back into the communities and help those who are still suffering come out.
Who will be the speaker this year?
The speaker is Jimmy McGill. Jimmy was the director of Peer Services in the state of Arkansas for a while, and then he started his own nonprofit, Next Step Recovery Housing, which helps people coming out of prison, jails and treatment centers to give them a safe place to stay, and they provide housing and jobs for those individuals. He is a well-known speaker about re-entry and recovery, and we’re very excited to be able to get him to come and speak and share his lived experience and the inspiration that he gives. He's also an author. He published a book called "From Prison to Purpose,” and he'll be talking about that on Saturday night.
Why should people attend?
September is National Recovery Month, and we know that most people know somebody, know a coworker, a family member, or someone that's suffering from substance use disorder or have mental health issues, and we want to be able to show that recovery is possible, that there is hope, that there are resources out there, and that people can live a self-driven life. And we want to reduce stigma.
What's going to take place that night in terms of performers?
We're going to have our speaker, and then after our speaker, we will have our performers. Our performers are people who are actually in recovery. Some have, you know, just a little bit of time in recovery. Some have a little bit longer time in recovery, but they're all in recovery. Some of them have their original music that they're going to play, and some are going to just be doing cover songs. But they're all very talented, and their job that night is to provide hope to all those new people that will be in the audience that are seeking recovery.
What can we expect? I mean, are there singers? Is it somebody playing the guitar? What kind of talent, the acts?
Yes, we have people who will be playing guitar. Most of them will be singing, but we do have some people that play instruments that will be on stage that night, and it's pretty diverse. From people singing rock and roll to people doing Broadway musical numbers.
Tell us about the cost.
The cost is free. We do have tickets. We are asking for a suggested donation of $15. But if a person doesn't have $15, they don't have to worry about it. They will be able to get into the show.
What makes this year unique? What is it about this year that you know may be different from past years?
What makes this one unique is the community that we've put together to come. And when I say community, I mean people from the Wichita Fire Department, the Wichita Drug Court, just different people from different areas of our community, a lot of community mental health and substance use disorder providers, a lot of sober living environments.
What have you seen as a benefit from attending Recovery Idol?
The benefit is it reduces the stigma of substance use and mental health. We've had such a has been stigmatized so much that people are kind of afraid to talk about it. People think that those who are addicted to drugs or alcohol … that there's no hope for them, but there is, and we hope to give people an idea that night that recovery is possible, and people can recover from a horrible state that they're in.
This event is open to the community. It's open to the public. It is not just exclusively for people that are in recovery, but it is open to our whole community, so they can come out and enjoy a really nice show, help reduce some stigma and help out a good cause.
