Michigan National Guard’s State Support Chaplain, Maj. Drew Brennan, discusses the role of chaplains in the fight against suicide. This is one of a series of videos highlighting the suicide prevention and awareness resources available to service members. (Video by Capt. Joe Legros)
Transcript
I think there’s three things that the Chaplain Corps brings to suicide intervention. One is, we have the strictest confidentiality. Unless you specifically give a chaplain permission to say something, it’s not going to leave that conversation. And, the second thing is that, often times, when people are having thoughts of suicide that’s a crisis of spirit as well. And so the chaplain can add that, that spiritual dimension to the conversation, if that’s something that the service member is looking for. The third thing is, chaplains are invested in the units. And, so often times, they get to know the service members very well and they have that connection as well. Having someone whose phone number is right there that you know you can reach out to whenever you need to is incredibly important. So, maybe that’s a good friend, but maybe it is the chaplain. When I walk the halls of Joint Force Headquarters, when I’m in the field seeing soldiers training, I regularly run into people that have walked through very difficult times, have thought that their life was at an end, and here they are thriving. It’s a joy to my heart that, when people get the help they need, it works. People can get through difficult times with support.