a light in the dark

Behind the responders who handle crisis in the Flathead Valley stands a one-man support team holding things together as the shock sets in.

Seven years ago, Drew Buckner began Braveheart Ministries, a chaplain program that serves both responders and citizens experiencing trauma.

Lately, however, the donor-supported nonprofit has struggled to stay afloat financially as Buckner continues to work behind the scenes, getting his hands dirty for the sake of a community that, for the most part, has no idea he exists.

The program began 12 years ago as firefighters, police and ALERT responders in Kalispell recognized the need for citizens to receive help and support in the wake of life-changing loss.

Buckner, the pastor of a local church at the time, and three other chaplains banded together, taking turns to respond to calls from different agencies for around five years.

By his fifth year, Buckner said he came to realize that his strengths as a chaplain surpassed his abilities as a church pastor, prompting him to transition into his chaplain work full time and launch Braveheart Ministries.

“I began early on to see the citizens specifically were struggling with these crises, and unless they had specific friends or neighbors that were going to show up and knew what to do, they were not getting the help they needed,” Buckner said.

Today, Buckner responds to the darkest of calls alongside his comrades in uniform, lending emotional and logistical support to those impacted by an unexpected death.

He provides information about what the coroner will do, how to choose a funeral home, burial or cremation arrangements, how to tell family/children about the death and how to move forward in the wake of trauma.

Buckner also steps in for responders in giving death notices, taking on the hardship of telling families a loved one has passed.

During those times of shock and heartbreak, Buckner provides a calming comfort and emotional support, allowing responders to do their jobs while he tends to the needs and questions posed by those affected.

“I know that God is using me to help them in moments that are imprinted on them forever,” he said.

One call that stuck with Buckner resulted from a suicide. The victim’s mother was on scene when he arrived and asked him where he thought her son went.

Buckner told the woman what he believed about death, and in return she told him of her son’s practices and beliefs.

“It was a hard conversation,” he said. “But that’s what she wanted was a direct answer.”

After the conversation, the woman walked away.

Another couple disappeared while hiking alone in unfamiliar terrain in Glacier National Park. The parents flew out first when their 19-year-old son went missing and again when his body was found months later when the snow receded.

Buckner was there through it all, from shock to loss to acceptance.

“It was a nightmare for them, probably the worst moment of their life,” Buckner said.

His goal in those moments, he said, is simply to inform and support, not to judge or preach.

“I have seen people when I get introduced to them, their whole countenance just takes on this look of relief, of appreciation, of gratitude. And it doesn’t matter where they are in their personal spiritual journey, what they believe or don’t believe. They’re always grateful.”

Supporting the public makes up just a fraction of Buckner’s role as a chaplain.

More often he spends time with and offers support to responders, the men and women in the trenches of the community.

In the midst of the violence and injustice involved in their work, they too often pose questions of “where is God in all this?” or “why would he allow this to happen,” Buckner said.

The stress of their jobs can often pile up over time as they respond again and again to situations of abuse, death and disaster.

For seven years, Buckner has made it his mission to make sure deputies, firefighters, police officers, dispatch, medics and other first responders maintain their emotional, mental and ­— if needed — spiritual health throughout the entirety of their careers.

Before some of the toughest men and women in our society will allow him to enter their worlds, Buckner said he has to first gain their trust.

“You can call yourself a chaplain, but it doesn’t matter until they trust you,” Buckner said. “And that only happens by going in the fox holes with them, going to the ugly calls.”

Though he remains readily available to all responders from his office in the Kalispell Fire Department, Buckner also provides official trainings on dealing with trauma and debriefings for particularly gruesome calls.

Through Braveheart, he has held seminars for spouses of responders to allow them to communicate and build a community with people who understand and share their world.

He hosted a banquet to honor dispatch workers, those he calls the silent heroes, to remind them that they have people who appreciate and stand by them as well.

He attends award ceremonies, celebrates births and weddings for responders of all agencies.

He welcomes conversations involving marital struggles and work related frustrations for a group of people who might otherwise avoid contacting a pastor or counselor who is unfamiliar with the world in which they work and live.

“The number one question I get asked is who takes care of me in all this,” Buckner said. “My faith plays into that.”

When faced with the trauma of his own job, Buckner said he often reaches out to other chaplains and talks to his wife.

Usually, he said, he returns to his office after a call, closes the door and spends time with God, allowing him to provide the same comfort and renewal he witnesses on trauma scenes.

Over his 12 years as a chaplain, Buckner said he has experienced time and time again the magnitude of the impact his presence has in those pivotal moments for those in shock and mourning.

Still, he said, most people have no knowledge of the existence of the chaplain program until they come face to face with crisis.

The obscurity of the program makes fundraising difficult, and in recent months, the program’s funding has begun to dwindle.

As Buckner and his board of directors experience a season of need themselves, they hope the community will help them become “totally sustaining through an established ongoing donor base.”

Their goal is to gain at least 200 donors at $25 monthly or 100 donors at $50 monthly and to have two to four “anchor” donors contributing larger annual investments.

No matter what, Buckner said, he plans to continue providing his vital services and one day hopes to add a second chaplain to his program.

For more information about Braveheart Ministries or to donate, contact Buckner at chaplaindrew10@gmail.com or call (406) 871-0183.

Reporter Mary Cloud Taylor can be reached at 758-4459 or mtaylor@dailyinterlake.com.