Alaska Police and Fire Chaplains

Alaska Police and Fire Chaplains | Allied Professional Award
Anchorage, Alaska

The Alaska Police and Fire Chaplains (APFC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, founded in 1980. The chaplaincy is in its 40th year, and is led by Chief Chaplain Diane Peterson. Approximately 100 chaplains across Alaska are affiliated with APFC and are trained to assist with traumatic and crisis events, providing services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, year-round. 

Chaplains are often called when a death has occurred, assisting with death notifications and providing support to survivors/victims on scene, and beyond. Chaplains also provide emotional support, visiting sick or injured officers, firefighters, agency personnel, and family members; offer assistance and crisis intervention to victims of traumatic incidents; provide training on suicide prevention, death notifications, stress management, grief, ethics, and family life; and facilitate a survivors of suicide support group. 

These services are offered regardless of faith, and without personal agenda nor mission to proselytize. The chaplains simply focus on serving in ways that will be most beneficial to those in need. 

With the Anchorage Police Department, APFC helped create a guide for family members who have lost loved ones through homicide. The guide outlines the court process and what to expect in the days to come, and offers a list of resources to connect victims with services. 

The Chaplains host and attend rallies standing against domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, and impaired driving. Chaplain Peterson leads the National Crime Victims’ Rights Week tree ribbon-tying ceremony hosted by Victims For Justice and was an advocate for reviving an Anchorage park, which includes the Alaska Victims of Violent Crime Memorial and lists the names of those murdered in Alaska. 

Chaplain Peterson and the Alaska Critical Incident Stress Management team support first responders throughout remote areas of Alaska. Chaplain Peterson has earned the trust of tribal leaders and is welcomed into these communities to assist victims’ families, “a tough position that not all can walk… Diane [and the APFC] does it with grace,” said Sr. Chaplain Audrey M. Saganna. 

APFC offers compassionate, selfless service to Alaskans, delivering hope to thousands of people every year and empowering victims to have a voice. The chaplains have the spirit of 100 warriors and are a necessary compass in their communities.