Ministers to Become Police Chaplins

” these officers are human beings and they are being asked almost to do a super human task.” And after those duties have been fulfilled, someone has to be there to help pick up the pieces. That’s where thousands of law enforcement Chaplin’s come in. Offering emotional, physical and sometimes religious support. As a former Army Chaplin for 22 years – Dave DeDonato says ministering to the thin blue line is similar because of the unique challenges both groups have chosen to come face to face with every single day. “we help them decompress after a critical incident because their are times where you might have a police officer being shot at, an officer killed, it might be a child they tried to rescue from a hostage situation it affects these officers.” The 41st annual international chaplin’s conference held at saint peter’s catholic church on assembly street was packed with men and women in ministry….many yearning for additional training to help this close knit community heal. Three days, and more than 63 hours worth of classes discussing issues like suicide prevention and stress debriefing from headquarters to hospitals. Among the 11 different countries represented this week – one group of ministers are from Jamaica. They say the conference teaches them new skill sets – the most important of them – letting law enforcement know – that no officer is ever alone.