When I began writing this article with our newest CSN Board Member, Pamela Rak, it was focused on her area of expertise: emotional and psychological care after a critical incident. Little did we know that during the week the need for these services became so readily clear in the tragic shooting at Fort Hood in Texas and the workplace violence incident in Orlando Florida the very next day.

During these crisis incidents, Pamela would e-mail me asking, “I wonder what they are doing for all those people who are victims, family of victims, and witnesses?”

Law enforcement and security professionals in general are usually focused on preventing an incident from occurring and dealing with it if it happens; this could be anything from crime to natural disasters to violent incidents.

The Christian Security Network deals primarily with educating organizations to be proactive and working to prevent and respond to any crisis which your church or ministry may experience. Churches also play a very crucial role in disasters surrounding their community and are often unprepared to respond.  In addition to recognizing the value in minimizing those practical and technical risks in the faith-based community, CSN more fully supports the human resources through our programs.

This is why we were pleased to announce this week an addition to the CSN Advisory Board, Pamela Rak.  Pamela’s expertise in Critical Incident Stress Management expands our efforts at a cooperative, comprehensive, and, integrated approach to services which promote prevention, restoration and recovery in disasters.  Pamela believes that “by their very nature and definition, trauma may overwhelm and create powerful emotional and psychological reactions at the time of and after an event that may overwhelm a person’s or groups usually effective ability to cope. Addressing the emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs has been demonstrated to mitigate the impact and accelerate the recovery and healing process of those affected.  By including this arena in their business practices, CSN again advances their standard of excellence and care to faith-based organizations.”

Mrs. Rak brings to CSN the specialized training and experience in an area that most security professionals and most Christian organizations don't address – what can you do before and what do you do after a tragic incident? Take a moment and consider if you are sufficiently prepared if:  someone experiences a heart attack during service; there is an accident or injury on your premises; someone completes suicide; a church leader morally fails; or a violent act is committed during a worship service or at a ministry event?

Most churches feel just because they are spiritual organizations that they can care for all the victims after an incident, however it goes deeper than grief counseling. Crisis Incident Stress Management is time sensitive and often not administered properly or in a timely basis.

And when most churches are “in the think” of the crisis, they are usually the least likely to be thinking about administering care. But with a plan in place and trained personnel to activate, it should become just another part of your overall Crisis Management Team preparation.

CSN has identified workshops and seminars that we hope to bring to your organization to help you prepare for the aftermath of a crisis, which include but are not limited to:

• Basic Elements of Emotional, Psychological, and Spiritual Care in Disaster’s
• How to establish and sustain a disaster ministry
• Crisis Communication Techniques (includes death notification)

Pamela’s full biography may be found on our website in the "About Us" section of the Advisory Board Member's. Her bio was briefly outlined in this week's newsletter, but in case you missed it Mrs. Rak is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Board Certified Professional Christian Counselor, and a member of both the International Board of Christian Counselors and International Critical Incident Stress Foundation.

Our prayers go out to all those effected by this week’s tragic shootings, but it is a sad reminder that we live in a fallen world and no place is immune from these types of incidents.

In Christ,
Jeff Hawkins
Executive Director