After David Vincent conquered his more than 20-year battle with substance abuse and left his former life as a burglar, he opened his home to others who were struggling and needed a place to stay. Vincent also began leading informal Bible classes that he called the Warriors Bible study, beginning in 1999.
"I was doing drugs and alcohol, and I just finally had to quit and break the cycle," says Otis Marshall, seen here being congratulated after graduating from the Warriors Center.
Photo by Nikki Boertman, Nikki Boertman/The Commercial Appeal
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John Lenehan bows his head in prayer at the Warriors Center. The program's regimented approach emphasizes memorization of Bible passages.
"The ministry started growing, and people began joining our efforts through a free cassette tape ministry of powerful testimonies, a nursing home ministry, gift drives for poor children, food drives and a jail ministry," he said.
As the need grew beyond what Vincent's home could hold and the program expanded to include discipleship training, group meetings, Bible studies, prayer and personal counseling, he introduced the Warriors Center, a faith-based program that aids people who are homeless and battling substance abuse and other destructive issues.
"Today, we continue our front-lines battle in the Memphis area with the Warriors Center ... a program that has changed many lives and continues to have one of the highest success rates in our area," explained Vincent, who bases his program on Jeremiah 29:14, which says, "Seek the Lord with all your heart and you will find him and he will deliver you from all your captivities."
The Warriors Center is one of the faith-based programs licensed by the Tennessee Department of Mental Health & Developmental Disabilities. The program has a 75 percent success rate, "because we focus on the gospel of Christ," said Landon Clay, the center's program director.
Clay said the name for the center "also comes from the term 'warriors for Christ,' with a strong military element to provide structure that those facing substance-abuse issues really need." Clay, a member of Bellevue Baptist Church, recognizes the need since he faced his own 20-year drug addiction and spent 11 years in and out of prison.
The two main principles of the Warriors Center include service to God and service to others, Clay explained. Rules of the center are attending worship service on Sundays, reading at least four chapters in the Bible each day, memorizing Bible verses and completing service projects.
Emphasizing the program's military structure, the men must wake each morning at 5:30 and pass room inspection. Through the one-year discipleship program, the men work toward different levels of E1, E2 and all the way up to E10, when they must stand before the other men in a program and quote 50 Bible verses from memory.
Clay said the scripture passage that best represents the program is Philippians 4:13, which says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Most referrals come through the residents' personal testimonies and speaking engagements at area churches, he said.
Otis Marshall, 23, joined the Warrior Center after a friend grabbed him by the shirt collar one night, led him to the telephone and told him that he had to get help, if not for himself, then for the sake of his 5-year-old son.
"I was doing drugs and alcohol, and I just finally had to quit and break the cycle," Marshall explained.
Marshall recently graduated from the one-year program and has begun training to become a truck driver. During his graduation program, he recited 50 Bible verses he had memorized, and he shared his testimony with the other men. The men responded by sharing encouraging words with him and signing his new Bible, which was presented to him by the president of the board of directors of the Warriors Center, Dr. Tom Stovall.
"Graduation meant a lot to me after all of the trials and tribulations I had been through," said Marshall. "It was meaningful and purposeful to me."
Robert Weber lived under the bridge at Getwell and Interstate 240 for more than 10 years as a result of years of alcohol and drug abuse. One day as he held up his cardboard sign, Amy Butler, executive administrator of the Warriors Center, stopped to talk with him and told him about the center. After nine times entering and then leaving the center, he finally returned.
"I completed the program, and on the 15th of September. I will celebrate six years of sobriety through the power, mercy and grace of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior," he said.
An alcoholic for 20 years, Scott Hedge attempted to maintain a regular life with his wife and four children until his drinking progressed. When he was referred to the Warriors Center, he recalled how Vincent prayed over the phone with him and helped him begin the process of rehabilitation. He graduated from the center in 151/2 months, earning the opportunity for three-hour passes to meet his wife at church and then later his children too.
"After graduating, I asked David what I could do to give back and help others," he said, and that began his new career as the center's boot camp coordinator for three years and his new life of sobriety for four years.
"My job is very fulfilling, and I meet all types of people, many who live under bridges, and it's the only way of life they know," Hedge said.
Navy veteran Anthony Linn says he fought his battle with alcohol and drugs until he lost all hope of victory. That was until the Olive Branch resident found out about the Warriors Center and felt at ease in a program that provided a sense of camaraderie and brotherhood.
"The Warriors Center inspires hope and has altered my life so much that I want to give back," he said. After serving as a resident counselor for about a year, Linn now attends Northwest Mississippi Community College full time, working toward a nursing degree while serving as transitional housing director for the center's off-site property.
The center originally opened in 1999 in West Memphis with a 36-bed facility. Now it's at 634 Semmes near the University of Memphis. The renovated 12,000-square-foot space houses more than 60 men. About 70 percent of the center's funding comes from income the men earn working for the center's painting, remodeling and landscaping businesses. They gain on-job training serving the community, Clay said.
Warriors Center
642 Semmes
Memphis, TN 38111
(901) 405-1298
This faith-based program for those who are homeless or battling substance abuse problems offers three different types of rehabilitation.
Residential: One-year program for those needing long-term assistance with housing, recovery support, educational assistance, team building, coping skills, pastoral care and job training.
28-day Spiritual Boot Camp: Short-term program that helps clients develop a spiritual framework to being their transformation process.
Intensive Outpatient Treatment: Program for those who don't require residential care, but instead attend three-hour group meetings, which include group therapy, education and individual counseling, for three days every week for eight weeks.
The Warriors Center seeks financial gifts, as well as donations of clothing, toiletry items and vehicles.
Source: http://kwindur.posterous.com/bible-centered-rehabilitation-program-helps-m-7620
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