She is taking time out to address how she dealt with substance-addicted parents through a monologue as part of the original theatrical experience “Attention Must Be Paid”. The show will be presented at 7 p.m. today and Saturday June 4 at the Clark State Performing Arts Center’s Turner Studio Theatre. Admission is free.
When show director Beth Dixon and stage manager Joan Elder asked Combs to contribute her experiences to the show, she found inspiration in letters with her late dad.
“I cried, I was so excited to bring awareness to it,” Combs said.
Combs was in fifth grade when her mom suffered burns over 85 percent of her body and was in a hospital for two months. She was prescribed pain meds that started her addiction.
Her dad tore his ACL and the two began using together, eventually turning to heroin, which was easier to obtain than the pain meds. In addition to battling addictions, the family saw its house burn down, grandparents pass away and drug dealers making frequent visitors to their rebuilt home.
“I wanted to shield my sister and I was angry. I didn’t get it why we weren’t as good as the drugs,” Combs said.
Through it all, she stayed focused, never letting herself give in to that lifestyle, clinging to her goal to attend college, saying her parents were functioning addicts and still supported Combs and her sister despite their challenges, with grandparents and guardians willing to help.
“I did have a really good support system. They were all amazing and gave me the foundation to succeed,” she said.
These experiences sparked her goals. She began a Friends of Addicts program at her high school and wanted to continue her track and field career.
Combs chose Wittenberg, where she would major in psychology and minor in sociology and was on the track team. Meanwhile, her mom went to rehab and is five-years clean, but her dad died from an overdose in 2019.
“Wittenberg has always been an asset for Clark County, and Kat is such an example of that,” said Dixon. “She has embraced this community and is earnestly and effectively making a real difference.”
The next step in her goals came earlier this year when she contacted Wendy Doolittle, CEO of McKinley Hall, who brought Combs on as a part-time Chemical Dependency Therapist.
Doolittle created the basis for another performance that “Attention Must Be Paid” evolved from.
Now having graduated, it’s her full-time job. Combs also recently took a weekend job at Ethan’s Crossing, another addiction treatment center in Springfield as a behavioral health technician, not minding working every day. Her dream is to own her own recovery center.
“I’ve been working since I was 15,” she said. “I was really grateful for this chance to work in this field. I’ll do what it takes to help (others).”
For more information on “Attention Must Be Paid”, go to www.facebook.com/ClarkCountyPartnersinPrevention/.