I was recently approached my an organization that in almost all aspects is a secular group. They have little or no Christian influence in their leadership and membership. Their primary objective is to help police officers who are suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). For those not familiar with this issue, let me explain.
PTSD is usually a result of traumatic incidents in the life of a cop or any first responder or soldier. It is not limited to these professions but it is most common among these men and women. The symptoms range from the inability to sleep all the way to suicide. If you follow the news you may have heard of cops committing suicide in bunches over the past year in Southern Ontario alone. This organization has volunteer counsellors in place but is still a work in process. Psychologists, psychiatrists, Equine Therapy, yoga and meditation are all represented and available to cops who need the services of someone that can help them battle through PTSD. In many cases the clients have suicidal thoughts because they feel they can not go on with life. Often medications are used as a tool for coping.
The stigma attached to PTSD is enormous and as a result many cops live with it in silence. Often they fear loss of jobs and even ridicule from fellow cops although this is becoming less of an issue with more education and exposure in the media. In the province of Ontario, legislation is in place to make it easier to receive Workmen's Compensation if someone is suffering from PTSD as a result of their profession. This organization was standing on stage as the announcement was made earlier this year.
That is the background and this is where my disappointment enters in. The organization who approached me after seeing a blog I had written about chaplains working with cops, wants Christian Chaplains/Counsellors to become part of their team. Let me repeat that: a secular organization has asked Christians to help them serve men and women who are desperate. In fact one of the leaders of this organization spent some time describing her journey with PTSD and how faith in God helped her get back on her feet. Pretty exciting...right?!
Not so much based on the response from 3 separate Christian organizations. Two denominations that I am associated with and a Chaplain organization have either said they are not interested or have given me and the above mentioned organization no answer. They are not even returning emails.
What is wrong with this picture? I could be on this team already but the desire of the organization is to have Christian Chaplains/Counsellors in place across Canada and they feel the best way to do that is through a denomination. Makes sense.
In case anyone is already thinking there is a catch, let me assure you there is not. It was clearly stated to me that they don't need psychiatrists or psychologists or yoga instructors: they already have that in place. They want the "faith" element which may be desired by some cops. The idea being that every person is different and they are drawn to what is most comfortable for them. As a Christian I know that the Lord is more than able to help someone who is desperate. God is in the business of helping broken people and He has been doing it for centuries.
So I am putting this blog out there hoping some Christian organization wakes up in time to not miss this opportunity. That may sound a bit harsh but I feel it is an accurate way of portraying the response to date. I keep telling myself it is God's timing and not mine and yet I feel compelled to put this request out there today. I pray that the Holy Spirit would open both eyes and hearts because the need is great and very real. Thank you for listening.
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