30 Jun 2024 A new day in court

By Rita Halter Thomas

Rebuilding lives is at the heart of Methodist Family Health (MFH), and Camryn Bland of Conway is a testament to that. Once a teen fighting for survival from an unfavorable home environment, Bland, 25, is now a Faulkner County probation officer serving the juvenile courts she once stood before.

“The juvenile court I was going through, where I was being court-ordered to … the Methodist Children’s Home is actually the court I work for now. So, I work for the same judge I once stood in front of,” she said. “Judge (Troy) Braswell changed my life.”

Bland, a single mother of two boys, put herself through college and earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, and thanks God for putting her in Braswell’s courtroom.

From the ages of 15 to 16, Bland completed two acute stays (five to seven days each), and a residential stay (four to five months) at the Methodist Children’s Home. She credits the longer stay longer stay with having the most positive impact. 

“[It helped] just being in an environment where there are people who actually care and people who are willing to talk to you and help you through your problems,” she said, referring to overcoming the effects of “a toxic home life and generational curses.”

Bland credits the structured environment at the home for making her feel safe. “For some of us, that wasn’t our norm. Coming from the environment we were growing up in, then into a setting that you kind of felt like you didn’t want to leave, it felt very safe. There wasn’t chaos,” she said.

“While I was there, there were people who had been there for years and years, so it wasn’t just people there for a paycheck. [There were] people who actually put in the time to make a difference,” Bland said.

Lorranda Barnes, her behavior instructor, was one of those people. Barnes is proud of seeing Bland transform from a battle-scarred youth who rarely smiled into a person radiating with a newfound brightness and being able to speak openly with poise about her struggles. “She has transformed her obstacles into stepping stones, leading to a career where she now guides others on a similar path,” she said. 

“I absolutely try to tell all the kids who come through the court that you are not defined by your mistakes, and you do have the ability right now to change it all around,” Bland said.