BAY MINETTE, Ala. — Not every child has the luxury of being born into a loving, stable family. But young women who find themselves on the wrong side of the law, whether because of a bad home life or other factors, now have an opportunity to find the stability and life skills they want and need.

The Baldwin County Residential Wilderness Facility, also known as Camp Horizon, held an Open House Oct. 20 to show local officials and residents how these girls can be helped and update them on the camp's progress.

"This is the first time we did not have to borrow from the taxpayers," Assistant Director Jennifer Lee said. "Next year we're looking at a surplus." The program is an entity of the Baldwin County Commission.

Director Bill Ford said the program was the brainchild of Mobile County Juvenile Judge Andrea Pennington.

"Judge Pennington said  'we have to do something with these CHINS (Child In Need of Supervision) kids,'" Ford explained.

"Judge Lang (Floyd) and (retired colonel) Jerry Steele had been working with boys at Camp Martin, but the population of juvenile detention girls was going up and up," Ford said.

He said Floyd was a juvenile judge at the time, and Steele was the program director for the Boys and Girls Clubs of South Alabama.

Ford said judges Narissa Nelson and Carmen Bosch worked with the county commission to get the program in place and in 2007 Camp Horizon opened its doors to a dozen 13- to 18-year-old girls who had been referred by the court.

As of this month, the camp reached its full capacity of 32 girls.

The girls struggle with drugs, alcohol or other substance abuse problems, lying and stealing; family issues like parents who have abuse problems or are absent much of the time; school problems like truancy, poor grades, peer conflicts, and other problems.

"I have a very addictive personality," says Taylor. "But we have a treatment team with our social worker, therapists - the therapists are always there for us."

Taylor said the camp also features parent classes, day passes and weekend passes to help prepare the family and ease the transition back into the home.

Paige, who has been a resident for seven months, said camp life is nothing like home, with structure and expectations every day.

"We wake up every morning with expectations. We go to school, we have group two times a day, three meals, snacks, and we run three times a week," she said.

She said the running is something new, and the length of the run progresses with each level.

"We couldn't make it without our families and teams," she said.

"These girls are not faking, they are real," Ford said. "The proof is in the pudding."

The program features a step-type program, with the girls beginning on the gray - or coal, level. Privileges are very limited on this level. Progressive levels are ruby, emerald and diamond. Each level is indicated by a coordinating colored shirt, with gold shirts representing the diamond level.

To leave the program a girl must complete 16 successful weeks. Responsibilities and privileges increase with each level.

Also with each level girls are put through "challenge obstacles." The camp, which sits on 190 acres, features a challenge obstacle course that gets more difficult as the girls progress.

Obstacles include fairly simple challenges such as a zig-zag, multi-height balance beam, or completely nerve-wracking challenges like the "leap of faith," where girls "leave the things that have been holding them back" behind and leap to a nearby trapeze that is hundreds of feet off the ground.

"All girls are in harnesses so they are always safe," Wendy White, resident advisor supervisor, said.

All obstacles are designed so that the girls must rely on each other to complete them, building trust, respect and communication skills. Parents or family members also participate with the girls, developing the same traits within the family.

That is one thing that makes Camp Horizon successful - the focus is the family as a whole, not just the girls.

"Sometimes we have to reteach the parents, they work on rules, consequences, goals, etc.," Lee said. "We have family counseling. The first session we talk to the parents by themselves, then the girls are with them."

Lee said another part of the success is the three levels of aftercare.

"We do two scheduled and two unscheduled visits during the first level, and do random drug-testing. We'll also visit them at school or games if they do sports," Lee said.

She said visits are decreased to twice a month during the second level and finally, as families achieve level three, visits are once a month unless more are needed.

"They can also call anytime they have questions or need direction," Lee said.

Girls are also required to participate in community service projects, such as visiting with the residents of Oakwood nursing home. Since its opening, residents of Camp Horizon have performed more than 1,500 community service hours, and many of the girls continue that practice after returning home.

Though Medicaid pays for the girls' stay, donations are always needed for arts and crafts, lawn mowers, vegetable seeds, reading books, gift cards for outings and pet food or services for the facility's two dogs, Rex and Bubba.