000.6 - START HERE: Welcome to the Hey Chaplain podcast, Year 6

START HERE:  Welcome to the sixth year of Hey Chaplain, the police wellness podcast.

https://buymeacoffee.com/heychaplain

Music is by Wes Hutchinson and by Chris Haugen

Hey Chaplain Episode 000.6

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Hello everyone, my name is Jared Altic and I'm a chaplain with the police department. If you're a regular listener, welcome back to the start of our sixth year. If you're new here, maybe you're wondering who is this guy behind the microphone? Well, I'm a chaplain with the police department here in Kansas City, Kansas. I've been an active police chaplain for a decade, and I've served as a minister at the same church for over 25 years. I've been married for 30 years, I've got five adult kids and grandchildren too. I'm a native Kansan who loves to travel and loves to come back home again. Sometimes people see the title Hey Chaplain and assume I'm a police officer and I'm not. Others assume I'm some sort of monk or priest, or some kind of scary guy who might hit you over the head with a Bible. The truth is, I'm just a guy who has spent nearly 30 years counseling and caring for military and law enforcement families. I spend my time at police roll calls in the passenger seat of cop cars during ride-alongs and on scene during those long, difficult, critical incidents. I see the toll that a law enforcement job takes on the faces of my officers, and that's why I'm here. You might be thinking, great, another podcast where someone rants for three hours. Let me stop you there. This is not a rant and ramble kind of show. Hey Chaplin is a wellness resource designed specifically for the law enforcement community. The name comes from the phrase that I hear regularly. Hey Chaplain, you got a minute? Or, hey chaplain, can we talk? While I'm a minister, this show is not overtly religious. My goal isn't to force my faith on you. It's to help you survive and thrive in a career that can be a relentless slog, a marathon, during which you might ask yourself, why am I still doing this? Why am I still a cop? On Hey Chaplin, we look at everything from the humor of the job to the deep trauma, work-life balance, suicide prevention, and leadership skills. We bring in guests from the LAPD to Scotland Yard, ranging from dispatchers to detectives and from federal agents to patrol officers. As we start year 6, I want to remind you why this resource exists and why it should exist in your toolkit. First, I want to bridge the gap. I realized early on that veteran officers have a wealth of wisdom that doesn't always get passed down to the next generation. This podcast serves as a lasting archive of that wisdom. Second, I want to break the isolation. This job can make you feel like you're on an island. By hearing real stories from peers who have overcome their darkest demons, you may realize that you are not alone. And third, I want to build cultural competency. If you're a helper, a social worker, a medical doctor, or fellow chaplain, this show is your cultural immersion into the world of those you serve. These conversations are how I learned to be better at supporting the officers. You may have noticed that I don't run commercials on this show. I don't have commercial advertisers or sponsorships, and I don't want them. I just have you. Hey Chaplin has grown to all 50 states and over 140 countries because of one thing: word of mouth. So I have three favors to ask. First, listen and follow. Go back through the archives. There are over 240 episodes waiting for you. Hit that follow or subscribe button so that you never miss a Monday episode. Second, share. If an episode hits home, send it to a colleague or your spouse or a friend. And third, connect. Find Hey Chaplin on Facebook or Instagram or email me, or use the text the show or leave a voicemail feature that's in the show notes. Finally, a word on how we keep the lights on here. For years, I paid for this out of my own pocket. But as the show has grown, so have the costs of hosting and software and equipment. To keep the show 100% commercial free, I rely on you. And so if you find value here, please consider buying me a virtual coffee at buymeacoffee.com/slash heychaplin. Almost everyone who supports the show is a first responder, a veteran, or a clinician. Your contributions ensure that this remains a free and valuable resource for the officers who listen. Thank you for being part of this community. Whether you're a rookie just starting out or a veteran looking toward retirement, I'm honored to spend time with you for another year. Thank you for listening to this update on Hey Chaplin, and as always, let's pray for peace in our cities.