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Community Corner

A PACT House

Inclusive Encinitas arts organization serves the community in a variety of ways, including a holiday show at a local nursing home.

For many years, Kathryn Campion has served her community by performing for residents at nursing homes. During one visit to a facility for people with Alzheimer’s, Campion was playing the piano while a woman sat unresponsive nearby. But when Campion launched into a Christmas song, the familiar melody awoke a deep-seated memory and pierced the woman's fog, and she came over to the piano and looked directly into Campion’s eyes.

Campion knows well the transformative powers of the arts. She is the executive director of Encinitas' Positive Action Community Theatre (PACT), which offers inclusive dance and theater workshops that welcome students with autism and other disabilities. The organization was founded in 2008 as a community theater group, but shifted to its current focus after she heard how the classes were meeting special needs. “They came to us and told us they had been looking for something like this, and we loved this population — we saw their purity and beauty, and talent, too,” Campion says.

That talent will be , and community members are invited to share their talents, too.  

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“We sing Christmas carols as a group and then we invite everyone to bring a talent to share if they’d like,” says Campion. A PACT dance teacher usually performs with her daughter, and some of Campion’s piano students play; this year, a teen in the PACT program plans to dance to Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” while a young woman with Down syndrome may recite a poem. “One of the values we have as an organization is community service, and this is a win-win all the way around,” Campion says. “One of the life skills we teach is self-esteem, and nothing boosts confidence more than seeing you can help someone else.”

In addition to the occasional nursing home shows, PACT is busy throughout the year hosting workshops for adults and teens, as well as a summer program for children; Campion hopes to add a drumming circle workshop next year. The workshops have a 50-50 combination of people with and without disabilities — the opportunities for peer mentorship are one of the strengths of the PACT program, Campion says. “We don’t talk about who has a disability and who’s a volunteer, we just have everyone participate together. There is a lot of modeling of life skills. What I’ve realized as this has evolved is the people who need this the most are the teens and young adults who can get more isolated. That’s what my main goal is — to pull people with disabilities out of the isolation their disability often creates and give them the skills to function successfully.”

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The next workshops begin Jan. 21. For more information on enrolling or serving as a volunteer, or to learn more about the Dec. 10 performance, please call 760-815-8512, e-mail info@pacthouse.org or visit pacthouse.org.

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