HELENA — At Carroll College, Camp Bright Horizons is bringing together children from across Lewis and Clark County who share a unique experience — having a parent who is incarcerated. Organizers say the goal is bigger than just a week of summer fun.
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From playing soccer with the Carroll women’s soccer team to scavenger hunts, painting, and collage making, campers are getting a chance to just be kids. Behind the games and activities is a deeper mission — breaking the cycle of family involvement in the justice system.
“We want to ensure that kiddos who have system-involved parents don't end up in the system themselves,” said Lewis and Clark County Department of Criminal Justice Services Director Kellie Goodwin McBride.
The camp was created through a partnership between the county and Carroll College, taking inspiration from similar programs in other states.
Carroll College stepped in after applying to help host the program — saying the work closely aligns with its mission and values.
Five Carroll sociology and criminology students are serving as counselors- hand-picked for their experience working with kids, but most importantly, their upstanding character.
“We invited students to apply who we knew had the attributes, and skills and background that we were looking for in our camp counselors,” Carroll sociology and criminology chair Jamie Dolan said, “and we have got the cream of the crop. We are so thrilled. They’re here because they want to be here.”
While the camp only lasts two days, counselors say the connections they’ve built with campers have come quickly.
“Kids love putting stickers on me,” declared senior Jon Smith. “They've put about eight or nine of them on me. By now, I've become their personal water bottle.”
“I feel like these kids are almost like friends to us already,” said junior Kortlan Nelson. “One of the kiddos said he wanted to be my friend, and I was like ‘absolutely best friends’, friends for life now.”
“I feel like we have made a difference, just giving them a space to let the kids be kids and not have to worry about anything else is amazing,” said senior Chloe Gullikson.
“I like to keep high energy,” Smith said. “I like to get down on their level and squat down, talk face to face with them, be able to just let them know that they’re safe and secure here, and that if they need anything, we're there for them.”
Organizers say after the camp ends, they plan to work with the kids and families monthly to offer support and resources, and that the community can expect to see the camp return for years to come.
“Just partnering together, the county, Carroll College, and the community, we can do great things,” Goodwin McBride said.
