The wonderful alumni of these two fine programs came to DAC and performed for the campers.

PASWORD (Program for Adolescent Student Women Of Real Direction) and Project AWARE (Adolescent Women Are Realizing Empowerment) are gender specific programs for girls ages 11-18 in the Cities of Poughkeepsie and Beacon. PASWORD was created in collaboration with Poughkeepsie Middle School in 1999, and Project AWARE was born in 2002 in Beacon. These programs use the literary, media, performing & fine arts to address gender-specific issues and empower middle and high school girls who face multiple challenges of delinquency, domestic violence, gangs, substance abuse and teen pregnancy. Participants attend totally tuition-free thanks to funding provided from public and private agencies, foundations and individuals.

Under the guidance of skilled professional artists, teaching in a broad range of disciplines including the visual, literary, media and performing arts, girls are encouraged to kindle their inner fires and discover their expressive selves; develop leadership, anger management, conflict resolution, and communication skills; and practice goal-setting and decision-making in a powerful journey of self-discovery.

Graduates reach back through their Alumnae Program, touching thousands more through community action projects, public art murals, Peer Mentor certification, for-youth-by-youth performances in community centers, theatres and schools, and public service announcements broadcast statewide and nationally on channels popularly viewed by youth — creating production works of art that provide opportunities for young voices to be heard. PASWORD & its sister program, Project AWARE, are dedicated to using the arts to shape future strong and balanced women as leaders in families and communities.

Through the arts, and a ceremonial Rites of Passage, 20-30 girls annually realize their sisterhood, unearth their own rich promise in abilities — frequently unimagined – and emerge with their eyes shining…

PASWORD & Project AWARE Program Director JOAN HENRY is a Native American artist/composer/performer and educator who treasures and shares gifts and teachings from her Cherokee, Apache and Arawak heritage. She has been on Mill Street Loft’s staff since 1994, and is also Artistic Director of Mill Street Loft’s Arts For Healing partnership program with Vassar Brothers Medical Center, and faculty guide for Mill Street Loft’s Alumnae Youth Advisory Council. Her numerous credits include: the Broadway 30th Anniversary Company of West Side Story, television, films, and over 30 recordings in native traditional, contemporary, classical and jazz venues, including her 2007 release “New Mountain.” An NYU School of the Arts Alumna, she founded a Native traditional women’s drum group, tours with her band, and trains drummers and singers—and is beloved at Dutchess Arts Camp for her Coyote stories. She is also a painter, herbalist, Women’s Traditional dancer and beadworker, a member of AEA, SAG, AFTRA and ASCAP performers’ unions, and teaches throughout the US and Canada.

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