04 Nov 2025 Caring Bears: UCA hosts national recovery event

Posted at 8:09 AMh in News by

The University of Central Arkansas hosted the Mobilize Recovery Campus Surge 2025 on Sept. 30 as part of a nationwide effort to address the challenges of substance use and mental health concerns among college students. 

The organization’s purpose is to end America’s addiction and overdose crises one voice at a time. The event, which was free and open to the public, featured music and speakers, and there were booths representing area resources. They distributed overdose reversal agents and fentanyl test strips to reduce fatalities.

Special representatives of the State of Arkansas attended, including State Drug Director Thomas Fisher, Rep. Tara Shephard, Arkansas Opioid Recovery Partnership Director Kirk Lane, Arkansas Collegiate Prevention Program Director Cody Conway, the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office, Sen. John Boozman’s office, and others.

Those taking the podium included Noah Thompson, a country music singer and the 2022 American Idol Winner; Tom Farley, New York Times bestselling author of “The Chris Farley Show” and brother to the late actor and comedian. Tom is a recovery advocate who shared that while he was dealing with an alcohol addiction, his brother was battling drugs; Luke Niforatos, executive vice president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana; and UCA President Houston Davis.

LEFT: Country performer Noah Thompson won the 20th season of American Idol in 2022. TOP RIGHT: Mobilize Recovery’s Ryan Hampton (from left), Theo Krizwicki and Garrett Hade. BOTTOM RIGHT: New York Times bestselling author Tom Farley, who is the brother of the late actor and SNL comedian Chris Farley.

The Mobilize Recovery Campus Surge 2025 tour, in partnership with META and iHeart Media, will travel to 13 universities nationwide this fall, uniting students, advocates and allies to build momentum for recovery advocacy, prevention and the destigmatization of substance use disorders.  From direct outreach to civic and community engagement, they strive to empower advocates to take direct action by providing digital tools, advocacy training and education.