“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” – Proverbs 29:18
Our History
In 1987, Mary Ann Khoury founded the DUI Victims Center of Kansas (DUI VCK) after the tragic death of her childhood friend, Barbara Farha. Barbara, who was three months pregnant, was struck in Wichita by a repeat impaired driver who ran a red light. Barbara and her unborn child remained in a coma for more than two months before they died. Khoury had also been injured by an impaired driver in 1971, and through these experiences she recognized the lack of support services available to victims of impaired driving crashes in the Wichita area. With support from Wichita’s Orthodox Christian clergy and community members, she began researching and developing a program to address this gap.
Khoury reached out to professionals in law enforcement, prevention, intervention, education, treatment, and victim services to assess the true need for victim support. After countless hours of research and with continued support from the Wichita Orthodox Christian clergy and parish members, she established the DUI Victims Center of Kansas.
The program launched as an affiliated project of Interfaith Ministries in 1987 and became a program of the YWCA in 1989. With guidance from these partnerships, volunteers formed the DUI Victims Center of Kansas, Inc. as an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 1993. What began in the founder’s family room with a small group of volunteers and an answering machine grew into a Wichita-based organization with professional staff, a governing board of directors, and a network of trained volunteers serving communities across Kansas. After a brief pause in operations, the organization reestablished itself in 2018 and resumed providing comprehensive victim services and prevention programming.
Where We Are Today
Today, the organization serves more than 300 victims and survivors each year, including individuals impacted by impaired driving crashes and their families and friends. Since its founding, DUI VCK has assisted more than 17,000 people.
In addition to direct victim advocacy, DUI VCK plays a critical role in prevention and education. In 1990, the organization developed its Victim Impact Panel program, which provides court-ordered education for individuals convicted of impaired driving offenses, including those participating in DUI diversion as well as juvenile and adult court-ordered offenders. Since the program began, more than 100,000 offenders have attended these panels, where they hear firsthand from victims and families about the devastating consequences of impaired driving.
Over time, the organization expanded its work to include five core program areas: Victim Advocacy, Victim Impact Panels, Prevention Panels for youth and community groups, Education Initiatives, and the Every Victim’s Voice volunteer program.
Through these efforts, DUI VCK supports victims, strengthens community safety, and works to reduce impaired driving through education, accountability, and awareness. By addressing the real human impact of substance misuse and impaired decision-making, the organization also contributes to broader behavioral health and addiction prevention efforts. The choices people make behind the wheel can change lives in an instant, often affecting families and communities for generations. By sharing these stories and supporting those impacted, DUI VCK works to prevent future tragedies and promote a safer, healthier community across Sedgwick County and the state of Kansas.
The DUI Victims Center of Kansas provides services to victims, survivors and their families and increases awareness of the traumatic consequences of drinking and drugged impaired driving.