Benefit concerts help keep Hope going for troubled girls

Jim Carpenter describes the "All Stars of Music" performances on Friday and Saturday as a thank-you to the Flathead Valley as well as a benefit for Hope Ranch.

Carpenter, Hope Ranch admissions director, considers the people of the valley partners in the healing of the troubled teenage girls who attend the nondenominational faith-based therapeutic boarding school.

"Being here in the valley is a tremendous asset," he said. "When we take the girls off the ranch, the people they encounter are so cool and so understanding."

During these difficult economic times, Carpenter said, community musicians have come together to help boost the school's scholarship fund.

The concerts are at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Christian Center in Kalispell and 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center.

For $20 tickets, supporters receive an evening of vocal solos, brass choir, big band and Broadway show music featuring musicians from Glacier Symphony, Glacier Chorale, Flathead Valley Community Band, Swingin' On High Big Band and BrassWerks. Children 12 and under attend for free.

"It's just going to be one terrific night of performances," Carpenter said. "We have a group of girls who are going to perform with the band."

He said the benefit this year comes at a crucial time for Hope Ranch with its small scholarship fund nearly exhausted. The trouble started in October when banks administering Sally Mae and PrepGate funds cut off applications for new loans.

According to Carpenter, about 80 percent of families used these loan programs to get help for their daughters ages 13 to 17 at Hope Ranch or other facilities around the country. With few dollars available for tuition, the private nonprofit school is now operating at half its 36-student capacity.

"I still get 15 calls a week from families," he said.

Carpenter called the situation heartbreaking since about fifty percent of the families seeking help have daughters with behavior problems the school can help. He cites a 93 percent success rate with girls permanently overcoming problem behaviors at Hope Ranch.

"We can trace the whereabouts and success of most every girl," he said. "They come back and visit and they come back and mentor."

According to Carpenter, the ranch accepts girls with a range of issues including addictions, eating disorders, depression, defiance and anger.

A review committee looks at each application and makes extensive inquiries before making a decision. Staff members conduct interviews with relatives, professionals and others who know the teen.

"What we're looking for is a girl that people talk about in terms of her potential," Carpenter said.

He said the program at Hope Ranch (located west of Whitefish) aims to help young women recognize their potential and develop life skills to make good choices. It employs therapeutic, academic, spiritual and residential components in collaboration with parents and community resources to heal teenagers from Montana and beyond.

Carpenter said the limited enrollment of just 36 and the versatile staff allow Hope Ranch to add components to the core program to fit each girl's needs.

"That alone contributes mightily to our success," he said.

Staffers in every area follow the same dictum, teaching the girls that their choices determine outcomes in every-day life. Carpenter said the ranch provides an emotionally and physically safe environment for girls to have meltdowns.

He said those breakdowns open the door for learning.

"We can teach them to deal with that situation," he said. "We don't have baby sitters, we have professional staff. They show them what good choices look like."

As an example, Carpenter recalled a teenager who had just arrived at Hope Ranch and was going through the initial arrival interview. As is usually the case, she was angry at everything and everyone who placed her there.

"She took her glasses and threw them against the wall and broke them," he said. "The interview continued - no one did anything. She picked up the pieces and threw them against the wall again."

Eventually, she asked when she would get her new glasses. Carpenter said she was told she had made the decision to break her glasses. It wasn't one they would have made but they respected her choice.

"They said 'Here's a piece of tape,'" he said. "In 90 to 100 days, she got new glasses. She picked out a really heavy-duty industrial pair."

In the past, her family got her new glasses every time she broke them. Carpenter said staffers at Hope Ranch have the patience not to react and to allow the girls' behaviors to drive the outcomes.

"It works," he said. "Pretty soon, they join the choir. You see a physical change in the girls when they get rid of the 'mad.'"

Carpenter described that turning point as the place where a student begins voracious growth emotionally and academically. He said girls jump from Ds and Fs to Bs and Cs or better in as little as a quarter.

Some girls take longer than others to journey through the five levels to graduation. On average, students stay for 15 to 16 months, but some stay for two years.

"We try not to define anything by time," Carpenter said. "The length of the program depends on your daughter."

Students become mentors for each other and assume leadership positions in the upper levels. They leave with five to seven friends for life.

Carpenter said the wealth of outdoor and community service opportunities in the Flathead Valley contributes to the healing process that has earned a national reputation for Hope Ranch.

"This is a community program," he said. "Its goal is to rescue young ladies to prepare them for a successful future."

People interested in attending the Hope Ranch scholarship fund benefit Friday and Saturday may purchase tickets at the door or in advance at Montana Coffee Traders, Whitefish Credit Union and Snappy Sport Senter.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.