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really good peer support, I really felt like I was in excellent hands the whole time. We were given the skills and resources necessary to meet the challenges of the work.� Those skills and resources include an insider’s view of police culture and procedures; tours of a funeral parlor and the county dispatch center, morgue and jail; familiarization with gangs, domestic violence and child abuse; and extensive role-playing and assessment, as well as the self-assessment necessary to avoid the burnout that can afflict all helping professionals. Candidates must go through a rigorous screening process before being admitted to the 28-week academy. Those who graduate are expected to commit to at least one year of being on 24-hour call twice a month and attending bimonthly in-service training.
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‘We’re there to be an extra set of hands, and a shoulder to cry upon if they need it. We are just there to be there.’ Crespan says that while a chaplain candidate’s basic qualifications are easy to state (“We’re looking for someone who’s compassionate, who’s loving, who has good listening skills�), the decision to become a lawenforcement chaplain is less easily described. “There are no words to explain it; you just know you’re meant for it,� she says. Franklin agrees. “At first, my family and friends were saying, ‘Why would you want to do that?’� she laughs. “And now they have a really deep sense of pride. They understand the work.� So does Franklin. She has so far participated in two “call-outs,� or incident responses: one shortly before her April graduation, the other shortly after. One in particular illustrated for her that she had done the right thing. “I had all of the uncertainty and anxiety of a newly commissioned chaplain,� Franklin recalls, saying that one call-out concerned a man who had died in his mother’s home. In this case, she was called to sit with the man’s mother and 15-year-old daughter. “The body needed to be removed, and that’s not the kind of thing that a mother wants to witness,� Franklin says. “Naturally, my fear was that I wouldn’t know what to do. But I was so well trained to use my intuition and skills that the next decisions seemed to come naturally. “The feeling I had after spending two and a half hours with that mother and adolescent girl—I walked out and said to myself, ‘I did something good today.’�
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The Law Enforcement Chaplaincy Service begins its 11th annual training academy on Sept. 23. For more information, including how to apply, visit www.sonomalawchaplains.org.
THE BOHEMIAN
08.26.09-09.01.09
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