Every day, as part of their daily duties, first responders encounter serious trauma, life-threatening medical emergencies, and fires that displace or injure families.
When they arrive, they may appear calm and disassociated with the chaos surrounding the event. They really aren’t—they are trained early in their careers to take a deep breath, assess the situation, and then take the appropriate actions to promptly resolve the issues.
Members of the public who witness these events, and the victims of them, rarely encounter a traumatic event or serious family emergency. They often need help to cope with the aftermath, and there is a special volunteer unit that’s ready and able to assist.
The public safety chaplain corps are ready, able, and specially trained to help in these situations. The role of chaplain in diagnosing and addressing spiritual needs is an essential part of “whole person care.” If we think of a human being as body, soul, and spirit, it is very clear to us what doctors do in treating the body, and somewhat clear what a therapist does in treating the mind or soul.
However, there is a great deal of confusion about what the spiritual needs and issues are, and even less clarity about how one goes about treating them. And this is where the chaplain can help.
Late last year all the Santa Barbara County chaplains met for their annual Christmas breakfast, and as they did some round table updates, several of them stated that the call out volume is down.
When a natural death, accidental death, or homicide takes place or some other traumatic event where a chaplain might be of assistance, hospital staff, law enforcement, or the fire crew may say to the family, “Would you like us to call a chaplain?”
In the city of Lompoc, first responders ask this question frequently, and calls for chaplain service over the past five years have resulted from these interactions.
Over the years other groups such as the Community Team, Community Care, sheriff or police or fire support teams have evolved. Why? Because not everyone in the community understands what chaplains do or can provide.
Chaplains come from the religious community and by nature are people-oriented, meaning that they genuinely care about people no matter what their economic status is or whether they are regular attendees at religious services. Each has received additional training concerning how to assist during the chaos surrounding personal tragedy, thus giving them an additional skill set to provide the best assistance in emotionally charged situations.
A chaplain may help with crowd control early in the incident and then comfort a family with prayer over a deceased relative or help calm witnesses to the event. They will call local family members on behalf of the grieving family when asked to inform them what has happened and wait at the location until they arrive.
What they are not there to do is preach or proselytize; instead, they help bring a sense of calm and a caring “helping hand” to those in need. They can also assist officers and provide guidance as to the next steps for families who have never witnessed a tragedy before.
However, if victims or their families are offered some assistance and they do not agree to it, a chaplain will not be requested by first responders.
Chaplains’ assistance is free; they are not paid, nor do they expect payment for these acts of kindness. They are there to help ease a family’s pain resulting from a catastrophic event.
Some of these situations are difficult for even the most seasoned emergency worker to deal with. The chaplains are also there to help them heal as well.
Thank God we have chaplains to help with the healing process.
Ron Fink writes to the Sun from Lompoc. Send a letter for publication to letters@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jan 9-19, 2025.