Not giving up on those behind bars: Belser addresses Town Lions Club
A ministry dedicated to helping prisoners was shared with Farragut Lions Club members during its regular meeting Tuesday, July 25 in Mimi’s Cafe.
Brian Belser of Men of Valor addressed the club, and shared the origins of the ministry, which began in Nashville.
“We are a prison re-entry ministry for men returning from incarceration,” he said. “We work throughout the state of Tennessee and are in our 26th year.”
The non-profit was founded by Carl Carlson, who was himself a prisoner and became a Christian in prison.
“He was an orphan, and really had a heart for men who came up the way he had,” Belser added.
“Carl saw there was a huge need, not just for evangelism inside the prisons, but to help men when they were getting out.”
The plan to open a campus just outside of Nashville, in Antioch, was realized just after Carlson’s death in 2014.
“He saw the pictures and the drawings, but he didn’t get to go there,” Belser said. “But we have a 260-acre campus and can serve 93 men.
“The growth that its experienced since then has been mind blowing,” added Belser, who has been with the program about five years.
The Knoxville campus opened in 2022. “This, our first expansion, was to Knoxville,” he said.
The impetus to opening this location was due to the high recidivism rate in Knox County, which Belser said is the highest in the state.
“Last year their number was 74 percent of people released from Knox County detention facility, or jail, were back in prison within three years,” he said. “They say it is lower this year.
“That is a crime problem, but in our estimation it’s also a community problem,” Belser added. “If a man does not have the things he needs when he gets out, it’s a problem.”
Belser said the program’s core is Bible-based.
“Everything we do is centered around Jesus,” he said. “Men of Valor has a presence in every prison in the state. Our relationships begin in the prison, where we offer weekly Bible studies.
“We share the gospel, connect on a personal level, we disciple for a time and then we send them out to minister themselves,” Belser added.
“Of our staff of 50, almost 20 are graduates from our program. When a man is getting close to being released, he can apply to come to one of the two after-care programs.”
However, sex offenders or anyone with severe mental health issues cannot be considered.
“If they need some kind of special medications, we don’t have the staff to dispense that,” he said.
“They do a face-to-face interview,” then, if they are accepted, “upon release we pick them up at the gate,” Belser added. “We supply all their basic needs.”
He said during that first 30 days outside prison, “they get loved on a whole lot,” and their clothing, hygiene, food, medical and housing needs are all provided.
“In Knoxville, we have 16 suites in what was an old hotel,” he said. “We also have a house manager because we have to have staff on-campus 24 hours a day.
“We try to make sure all of their needs are taken care of, so they don’t have to worry about anything and can relaxand get acclimated to not being in prison,” Belser added.
The former prisoners take a variety of “all Bible-based” classes, he said “We make sure everybody has a relationship with the Lord. If they don’t have that, we find their success rate is not very high.”
On day 31, “they go to work. We have six active job partners right now, and we don’t have any who don’t provide at least 16 dollars an hour, and benefits after 90 days.”
He said the program lasts for one year.
“Our guys get a mentor around 90 days,” he said. “We have a lot of volunteers who come to different classes. Our prayer and our hope is if we have enough Godly people around them, when they encounter difficult situations, they will reach out, or make a phone call, before they react.”
Men of Valor has several community partners, and also works with several area churches, including First Baptist Concord, First Baptist Powell and Northstar Church.
For more information, visit men-of-valor.org.
Belser said all the men he’s worked with have been able to get eyeglasses thanks to Farragut Lions Club, which meets the second and fourth Tuesdays each month in Mimi’s.
