Why Chaplains?

During WW I, Psychiatrist, Dr. Thomas Salmon, provided crisis support services for American combat soldiers. Under his care, 65% of soldiers returned to active combat in three or four days. Apart from his care, only 40% returned to combat usually taking 3 to 4 weeks (ICISF Course: Group Crisis Intervention, 5th edition, p.19-20). Under Salmon’s rubric, an agency-based Chaplain trained in crisis intervention, emotional/spiritual care as well as the Incident Command System, can provide effective support to first responders in ways other professionals cannot.

In years past, chaplains simply served ceremonially at banquets and funerals. However, first responders need support in very specific ways. The unique and habitual stressors placed on first responders, along with critical incidents, must be approached by trained professionals. Proactively addressing stress, compassion fatigue and emotional/spiritual preparedness can serve to help first responders in their professional longevity and effectiveness. This is the uniquely tailored calling of a chaplain. The days of ceremonial chaplains are over if we want to achieve operational effectiveness. Properly trained chaplains are a must.

A Preemptive Mindset

The presence of an embedded chaplain sets the stage for preemptively caring for personnel before an incident occurs; it is a proactive position. The use of a Critical Incident Stress Management Team is highly valuable subsequent to an incident. However, properly trained chaplains offer a Ministry of Presence, building familiarity and camaraderie with command staff and personnel. This fosters resilience before a critical incident or major stressor occurs. Developing a chaplaincy in times of calm builds trust allowing for more effectual implementation of chaplain skills in times of crisis; emergency personnel are more likely to engage someone they know and keeps confidentiality. An embedded chaplain, in contrast to outside crisis workers, understands departmental culture and values unique to each agency.

A Comprehensive Approach

Chaplains, strategically trained and tactically placed, can become keys to improving work effectiveness, positive morale, and budgetary efficiency. Beyond the realms of first responders, municipalities benefit in times of crisis as chaplains engage the community.

FRCC seeks to establish and support first responder agencies with properly  trained and supported chaplains. Our vision is to see every willing department with a healthy chaplaincy.

What we offer

There are a lot of chaplain organizations - a lot! And the ones we know of are good. When FRCC was launched it was founded on strong values and a mission to establish and support first responder chaplains and the agencies they serve. We aim to be practical and every-day in our approach to chaplains, fire, police, EMS, and dispatch departments and personnel.

So, for chaplains, we offer personal support in mentoring and coaching as well as Member Forums on this site.

For first responder personnel, we offer the Member Forums on this site. The forums have a growing variety of resources - some video, some downloads, and a messaging where you can connect with other first responders for ideas and encouragement.

For first responder departments, we have three subscription levels of chaplaincy services from basic consulting to fully implemented programs. Subscriptions pricing is based on 1. The number of personnel, 2. the yearly call volume, and 3. the number of stations. So, pricing varies.

Please contact us to start the discussion!