CPRF March 2024 Newsletter - Flipbook - Page 4
CPR Foundation Supporting the Miami-Dade Police Chaplaincy Program
Providing Emotional Healing and Comfort Across South Florida.
The role of a police chaplain is to provide
emotional and spiritual support to sworn
personnel, civilians, and their families
within the community. They are available to
help in both good and challenging times
and provide various services such as
community outreach, roll calls, patrol ridealongs, ceremonies, unit and hospital visits,
funerals, debriefings, and other law
enforcement-related events.
The
Miami
Police
Chaplaincy
was
established in April 1981 to provide
department
members
with
essential
emotional and spiritual support. The
Chaplaincy currently consists of thirteen
members of various faiths, including
Baptist, Catholic, Jewish, and Nondenominational, who serve both sworn and
civilian members. Chaplains are on-call 24/7
to respond to critical incidents and provide
support in times of trauma and crisis with
compassion and discretion. The chaplains
offer prayers, counseling, and guidance,
fulfilling other member and departmental
needs as requested.
Many officers are typically reserved by
nature and may have difficulty opening up
about personal issues to a psychologist or
other mental health professional in a
formal environment. The primary role of a
chaplain is to show a ministry of presence,
listen, and offer emotional and spiritual
support to those in need. They serve as a
valuable resource for navigating the
challenges inherent in policing and
contribute
to
law
enforcement
professionals' overall resilience and
effectiveness.
The CPR Foundation is the only financial
supporter of the Chaplaincy program. The
funding is used to provide lunches,
dinners, and chaplaincy coins. Chaplains
present the coins along with a prayer to
people going through hard times and those
in need of a unique spiritual touch and
encouragement. The coins are meant to
symbolize kindness, faith, unity, and love.
The CPR Foundation also funds teddy
bears, stickers, and patches.
