Church basements are stereotypical settings for addiction recovery meetings. And Michael DePriest says he understands why, but that, maybe, it’s time for them to move into the daylight.
So DePriest, the founder and director of the nonprofit recovery community organization MyRecoveryKC, developed a program that’s secular and takes place in a public library.
“I do think that, in order for us to change the stigma around recovery, around addiction, we do need to come out in the forefront a little bit more,” he says, “so having these meetings in these public spaces, instead of the back room of a place.”
When Bill Wilson and Bob Smith conceived of Alcoholics Anonymous in the 1930s, they wanted to help professionals in small cities, DePriest says, “and so the anonymous part was important to them.”
And while some aspects of the anonymity are still significant, DePriest and the Kansas City Public Library have teamed up to try a different approach they hope will help more people who are struggling.
The 12-step program he facilitates each week at the library system’s North-East Branch and Central Library aims to eliminate the stigma as well as other barriers faced by people with substance abuse disorders.
Most prominent 12-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous lean on Christian beliefs and themes, which the library’s health and well-being specialist Jamie Placht says is inappropriate for the diverse population the library serves.
With that barrier in mind, Placht asked DePriest, whom he’d worked with on other programs, to adapt the 12 steps to make them feel welcoming to people of all — or no — religious backgrounds.
“There aren’t many groups doing that,” Placht says, “so just creating that space for people, we thought it was important.”
The group also tries to address what can be another daunting challenge for recoverers: loss of community.
“Sometimes folks in the addiction space, that becomes their community,” Placht says, “and stepping outside of that community may mean losing friends or, you know, losing that immediate support.”
DePriest says that’s part of social identity theory, and when someone has been wrapped up in misusing substances for a while, others in their social groups are often doing the same thing.
“You go from having a lot of people, to no people that you can really lean on,” DePriest says.
‘The power of community’
At its core, DePriest says his program is similar to AA in that it’s still a “recovery fellowship.”
“We believe in the power of community, honest self-reflection, personal growth, and supporting one another in recovery,” he explains.
But instead of looking to religion, DePriest encourages people to draw from their own values, experiences, strengths, relationships, and understanding of recovery, regardless of spiritual beliefs.
The meetings in library spaces are new in 2026 and, so far, in addition to people with substance abuse disorders, DePriest has seen people with eating disorders and gambling abuse issues.
“Twelve-step groups have always been accessible to everyone,” DePriest says. “Whether it's NA, AA or any other 12-step model. It's a place where people don't necessarily have to wait to start amassing some recovery capital and moving forward in their lives without alcohol or drugs.”
That low barrier makes the program both a great bridge to recovery, he says, and a helpful maintenance space, because it helps address the lack of immediate access to in-patient treatment. Once someone decides they’re ready for treatment, DePriest says, waiting even a week or two for a spot in a recovery facility gives them time to change their mind or lose momentum.
Placht says the library is an important partner in that journey precisely because it’s “out of a clinical space.”
“I see us as kind of like that access point to be a triage to get them to the right places, and we're getting them connected to the right people on top of the support that Michael and his team can provide,” Placht says.
DePriest says these programs are also typically a place where people can borrow from each other’s hope and strength, taking bits and pieces of what they learn from each other.
“Our hope for the group is simply that you'll hear something, that something will be said, that something will be done, that you'll meet somebody that will advance your recovery,” he says.
DePriest’s secular 12-step programs take place from noon-1 p.m. on Saturdays at the Kansas City Public Library’s Central location, 14 W. 10th St., Kansas City, Missouri 64105; and on Mondays from 3 p.m.-4 p.m. at the North-East Branch, 6000 Wilson Ave., Kansas City, Missouri 64132. Visit KCLibrary.org/calendar for more details.
