Police chaplains play a critical role in the spiritual survival of police officers and their families. The trouble is, there aren’t nearly enough of them to go around.

Police officers are increasingly asked to walk into the country’s distress, absorb it, and keep moving. Yet many are reluctant to acknowledge their own struggles, much less ask for help.

It’s enough to put even a good person’s soul at hazard.

A police chaplain enters through a different door.

A chaplain is often someone an officer already knows and trusts. Someone who can simply ask, “How are you doing?” or suggest, “Let’s get some coffee.”

This is one of the great, under-appreciated strengths of police chaplaincy: a chaplain can reach an officer before the officer believes help is necessary. That small opening can make an enormous difference.

An officer who finds a measure of spiritual steadiness can carry it back onto the street, where it may help keep cynicism and despair from taking hold.

Yet police chaplaincy is often held together by goodwill alone.

Most chaplain programs rely heavily on volunteers and operate with little or no funding. It takes a genuine calling to get out of bed in the middle of the night, comfort a grieving family, and stay long after everyone else has gone home.

Many of the finest police chaplains are retirees who continue to serve because they know how much they’re needed. In some departments, their dedication is all that keeps the chaplaincy program alive.

For nearly 20 years, ChaplainUSA has worked to strengthen and sustain that calling.

With your support, we preserve the hard-earned wisdom of experienced police chaplains and put it to work where it’s needed most—comforting those in grief, preparing chaplains for difficult moments, and giving police leaders practical guidance for leading through crisis.