Our Vision
Bringing families together to celebrate the diverse gifts of children and young adults of all abilities through creative activities in a welcoming environment to encourage a life beyond labels.
Our Mission
To provide education and socialization for children and young adults of all abilities through exploration of the arts, music, dance, nutrition, and life skills activities, while offering support and education to families and the community.
Heartism is a non-profit organization that serves children and young adults with neurodivergence and their families. We provide opportunities for artistic expression through a myriad of programs featuring art, music, and dance in a sensory friendly environment. We offer after school programs, special weekend events and summer camps.
We partner with local organizations to give outdoor experiences in a safe space for exploration. Some experiences include farm tours with Cultivating Connections and canoeing and kayaking on their pond, ropes course with B.E.A.R. and learning about animals and birds with Teller Wildlife Refuge.
Our Story
In November 2016, HEARTism Community Center opened its doors in downtown Corvallis offering services to children and families with special needs. HEARTism (Healing Arts for Autism and All Abilities) offers summer camps and a variety of art, music,exercise, cooking and life skills classes to children of all ages in a warm, welcoming, sensory friendly environment.
We have since moved to Hamilton, and continue to offer these invaluable services to families in our community from our new address at 1720 N 1st Street, suite G!
Meet our fantastic team of professionals!
We hope to grow!
We know there are many families with members in need of supportive, creative social interaction for their children and young adults. We have big goals to become a space that can also provide more connections with our community for employment as well as enjoyment. We are looking to find a permanent home to buy or build to meet the growing needs of our diverse children and young adults.
Even the smallest donation makes a world of difference to the children, teens, and young adults that we serve.
HEARTism is now a
Certified Autism Center!
We are a unique organization because there is no other Certified Autism Center in western Montana! We were the first certified center for Autism in the state in 2020.
We are the only organization of our kind, and some of our families travel as much as an hour each way to attend our programs.
Our certification includes two Certified Autism Specialists and 30 community volunteers trained in sensory awareness. Volunteers include many local fire and police officers.
We are so grateful to have two Certified Autism Specialists!
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Jessica Fitzpatrick is the Founder and Executive Director of HEARTism Community Center and Bitterroot Arts for Autism.
She is a Certified Autism Specialist and has a Bachelor’s of Science in Recreational Therapy with an emphasis in Psychology.
She has over 10 years of experience in leadership, design and implementation of programming for children of ALL abilities.
She is a Certified Yoga Instructor and a proud mother of an exceptional daughter on the autism spectrum.
Jessica Fitzpatrick
Executive Director
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Gina Wiezel grew up in Sacramento, California and graduated from CSU Sacramento in 2016 with her bachelors in Anthropology.
In the summer of 2016 Gina moved to Darby, Montana with her parents. Once there she enrolled in a program to become a Montessori pre-school teacher.
Gina now works as a VISTA for HEARTism. Gina provides program development and administrative support for arts and crafts, cooking, and outdoor activities.
Gina Wiezel
AmeriCorps VISTA Member
Join the cause
We rely on support from our generous community to keep our organization thriving! From volunteers, to financial donations, your support helps us continue to provide access to arts and activities to those we serve. Every little bit helps and we are extremely grateful for any and all support that we receive.
