A resource for support: APD Chaplain's Program brings together pastors and police to further serve the community

Yahoo

26-02-2025

Feb. 25—Editor's Note: This story appears originally in the Austin Daily Herald's 2025 Progress edition, out now
A new program with the Austin Police Department is creating a partnership that lends both support and resources to what can oftentimes be a difficult job.
APD's Chaplain's Program, created in partnership with the organization Salt & Light Partners, pairs pastors from the community with officers and creates another link in the chain of serving the community.
"I think primarily we want to be of service to the officers that we want to make their job easier. Take a load off of them," said Cory Goetz, executive pastor for Cornerstone Church in Austin. "Not only in the execution of their duty, but also on a personal level. We want to give them an outlet for somebody who's not a co-worker. Give them an outlet to share something, talk about something or look for help."
Together with Cornerstone Children's Pastor Cora Wyse and Austin Baptist Chapel's Pastor Victor Ordonez, the pastors ride with the officers during the shifts as well as being on call if a particular situation arises.
These supports can range from helping with a death notification to talking with an officer that's been through a traumatic situation. Anything that can lend an air of support to those in need during trying times.
"They ride with us so they participate in several ride-alongs throughout the month," said Sgt. Daniel Osborn, who together with Lt. Dustin Wollenburg is helping from the APD side of organizing the program. "They are there not only a helping hand to help us with our side of things, but also to help the community because there are times and there will be times when their experience might be needed."
The program planted its first seeds when both Wollenburg and Osborne were able to attend a gala fundraiser in Rochester put on by Salt and Light. During the gala, Salt and Light Executive Director George Beech put on a presentation that highlighted the value of the program as well as the benefits to departments and their communities.
For Osborne and Wollenburg, who were already organizing APD's Peer to Peer Program for its officers, this component that Salt and Light offered seemed like something that could go hand-in-hand Peer to Peer.
The officers had already gotten a glimpse of what the program could look like when Grace Baptist Church Pastor Dan Mielke assisted on a standoff in early July of 2024.
Once they opened the process up, applications were sent into APD and then Wollenburg and Osborne sent those applications to Salt and Light, who looked into the backgrounds of the pastors to make sure they were a good fit.
APD also holds interviews to get to know the chaplains.
On the practical side of things, the chaplains that assist officers can help with those things that sometimes can become lost in the course of doing their jobs. An example is death notifications.
"When it comes to that side of things, our minds are we've got all of these things we have to do whereas that part of it is just one part and it's a very important part that needs to be addressed," Osborne said. "Because the call itself is so large, we have to make sure everything needs to be done properly and sometimes that need is neglected. (Chaplains) kind of help us bridge that gap to give that more carrying side."
It's that warmth that can be of particular use, because it's something that the pastors themselves often are confronted with each day through their own work.
While a psychologist or counselor could offer the same supports, there is a clinical aspect to what they do that can sometimes get in the way. And while Salt & Light strictly prohibits proselytizing during the course of their work, oftentimes it's what people will ask for during their time of need.
"The overall theme of it is they are very well rounded," Wollenburg said. "They offer a lot of things a mental health professional couldn't offer as far as having that training and counseling element of it. They also add that spiritual connection as well."
That part of it is key. While Salt & Light prohibits proselytizing from its chaplains on their own, they can offer the support if asked for it.
"A psychiatric person is not going to touch the spiritual part and at the end of the day, all of us has spirituality and want to share spiritually and the best person to talk about that is somebody who is sharing their faith from pulpits every Sunday from churches," Ordonez said. "A pastor has this specific skill to know how to care for people. We are more of talking face to face, making eye contact. That is something that is very valuable for people."
However, the Chaplain's Program isn't just helping those things police are responding to. They are helping the officers as well.
In the exercise of their job, police can see terrible things on a daily basis and the chaplains are there to help them as well. This support is seen as foundational among officers who may be dealing with their own traumatic situations.
"From a professional perspective, the officer could come to them and talk to them about any sort of mental health challenge they may be having," Wollenburg said. "There's also, a personal element. Maybe an officer is having a challenge with a spouse or dealing with alcohol. They can help through those challenging times."
What it comes down to is making sure the officer is whole. Wollenburg points to something that Rochester Police Chief Jim Franklin said: Broke cops give broke service.
"This is such a strong and powerful resource for our officers to keep them resilient and keep them not broken," Wollenburg said.
But there's even a third component to this program that comes back to the pastors themselves and the church communities they serve. An important perspective that's imparted on them through the course of their time with the officers.
"I think sometimes it's easy when you're in the church world and in ministry to kind of get tunnel vision with everyone you're around," Wyse said. "Going out in the community like this has definitely opened up just a whole new world. You see the hurt of the community in such a different way I never would have seen. I grew up here and live here. I have a new soft spot for this town because of what people see every single day here."
"What we do here at the police department is a natural outflow of what we do the rest of the week or even on a daily basis when we're switching back and forth," Goetz added.
Ultimately, how the Chaplain's Program grows from here is unknown. Like so many things, it can be determined by funding, thought that's been taken care of for this year when The Hormel Foundation offered $15,600 to pay for the program.
For the time being, the hope is just to continue the program as best they can and if the opportunity to grow it comes for forward then all the better.
"We're just hoping to continue the program," Osborne said explaining the importance to the department and the community. "Our chaplains are made up of the community. They are not from outside. They are folks that are here. They are just as much ingrained in this community as anybody else and I think having the knowledge that they get from seeing and working with us they are bringing that into the community as well. It just helps build a bridge."
"They have a servant's heart," Wollenburg echoed. "And that's why they are here. That's why any of us are here."