CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Chaplains in our state face a seemingly impossible task. They're in Charlotte as part of the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team, to try to help the city heal.
With flags at half-staff and flowers sprinkled across The Queen City, the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team is asking one of the most important questions right now... "need to talk?"
"They just need to be listened to, they just need to be listened to," Chaplain Coordinator with the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team, James Kilgore said.
While hearts are heavy across the state, the loss of four officers hits harder than most for their brothers and sisters in blue.
Rapid response team chaplains are stationed right outside the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. They're hearing a lot of stories about the fallen officers, especially the department's very own Joshua Eyer.
Chaplain Richard Brown said some of these stories are traumatic, "some of the thoughts, some of the feelings, some of the emotions… are normal because they're dealing with something that is not normal."
Talking about those traumas, seems to be the only medicine for them, according to Kilgore, "The key to trauma is, you tell your story, tell me again, tell me one more time what you really saw… and the more you tell it, the easier the burden… what you cannot do — is hold it in."
It's a selfless job but one that comes from a place of understanding for both Brown and Kilgore.
Brown is a former police officer for the Town of Wake Forest, "I was a police officer about three hours from here but Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers… we're all one…"
Kilgore is a police officer in Tennessee, making all of this hit even closer to home for him, "it does make it more real."
The two chaplains with law enforcement experience, pride themselves on creating a safe space.
"They know their story, and listen, everybody has a story… is safe with us… that's the key," Kilgore said.
There is a prayer line you can call 24/7 at: 855-255-7729.