Police chaplains are critical to the spiritual survival of police officers and their families. The problem is there aren’t enough of them to go around.

At a time when police officers are increasingly asked to walk into the distress of the country, absorb it, and keep moving, officers are hesitant to ask for help.

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

A police chaplain enters through a different door.

The chaplain is someone the officer already knows and trusts—someone who can ask, “How are you doing?” or “Let’s get some coffee.”

That is one of the great, underappreciated strengths of police chaplaincy: the chaplain can reach an officer before the officer believes help is necessary.

That small opening can yield enormous benefits.

A spiritually grounded officer can bring that steadiness back to the street and help keep cynicism from taking hold.

Yet police chaplaincy is often held together by goodwill alone.

Chaplain programs rely heavily on volunteers and operate with little to no funding. It takes a genuine calling to wake up in the middle of the night to comfort a grieving family, staying long after everyone else has gone.

Many of the best chaplains are retirees who continue to serve because they are often the only lifeline for those in crisis. Without their continued dedication, a department’s chaplaincy program would collapse.

For nearly 20 years, ChaplainUSA has worked to change that.

Thanks to your support, wisdom that might otherwise be lost finds new purpose—comforting those in grief and giving police leaders the practical tools they need to lead through crisis.