Sandoval County chaplains seek $15,000 boost to support first responders

Sandoval County’s volunteer chaplain program asked commissioners for a $15,000 annual boost on April 22, pitching the money as a small line item with outsize value for deputies, dispatchers and grieving families.

Jeff Carr, the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office lead chaplain, told county leaders the program is entirely volunteer-run and has 11 active members serving the county. He said the chaplains provide crisis care, emotional support, wellness help, death notifications and assistance during the most traumatic incidents deputies and families face.

Carr pointed to a string of recent tragedies that had drawn the team in, including the homicide of a 4-year-old child and counselor, the deaths of a 5-day-old infant and a 6-week-old infant in Bernalillo, an incident involving a 15-year-old boy that prompted the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office to request help, and the drowning of a 16-year-old boy at Cochiti Lake.

The request went beyond spiritual comfort. Carr said the money would help pay for training, uniforms, identification, counseling for the chaplains themselves and materials for families. He also noted that the program supports deputies after traumatic calls and checks on dispatchers, including by providing a free steak dinner for both shifts at the Sandoval County Dispatch Center during National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.

County Manager Wayne Johnson underscored that point, reminding the meeting that dispatchers are often the first to hear crises unfold, long before anyone arrives in person. That makes them part of the same invisible safety net, even if they are not on the scene.

Commissioner Katherine Bruch responded favorably and said the county would do its best to secure the funding. For a county budget, the request was modest. For the people who answer the phone after a child dies, a drowning at Cochiti Lake or another violent call, the chaplain program is one more layer of support when the official work is over but the emotional burden is just beginning.