The PSC team consists of:

Ron holds the following positions:

• President & Senior Chaplain – Public Safety Chaplaincy, Inc.
• Senior Chaplain – Fort Lauderdale Police Department
• Senior Chaplain – Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue
• Chaplain – Coral Springs Parkland Fire Department
• Chaplain – Tamarc Fire Rescue

Father Ronald Perkins has served as a workplace chaplain full time since July 2010 and as a volunteer chaplain since his ordination as an Orthodox Catholic deacon in 2006.  Ron was ordained to the priesthood in November 2011.

Ron is a law enforcement chaplain and is a member of the International Conference of Police Chaplains as well as a member of the Federation of Fire Chaplains.  He has extensive experience and education in workplace chaplaincy, Critical Incident Stress Management and crisis negotiation.  Ron serves as the senior chaplain at the Fort Lauderdale Police Department the Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Department and Chaplain of Coral Springs Parkland Fire Department.  He has over 2000 hours in the field with law enforcement and fire rescue personnel.

In 2016, Fr. Perkins formed a non-profit organization, Public Safety Chaplaincy, Inc., to provide consulting and management services to public safety departments and direct chaplaincy services to client agency staff, families and retirees.

After graduating from Marcy State Hospital School of Nursing, Ron served as a US Navy Nurse Corps Officer specializing in pre-hospital and hospital-based emergency services.  While in the Navy, he helped establish an EMT Service for the Government of Guam, and served as the medical evacuation coordinator for the US evacuation of Siagon, Viet Nam.  Prior to Ron’s religious career, he spent over thirty years in management and marketing in the healthcare and business services industries.  His experience includes managing operations and marketing strategies for organizations with over 2000 employees and revenues in excess of $500 million.

Ron has served on several community charitable boards and the City of Fort Lauderdale’s Advisory Committee for Parks, Recreation, and Beaches as well as their Code Enforcement Board.  He is the past chairman of the Business First joint venture between the City of Fort Lauderdale and the Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce.  Prior to moving to Fort Lauderdale, he was the chair of the legislative committee for the Chamber of Commerce (New Castle County, Delaware), had a political talk show and was active in local and national politics.  He was also on the Board of Directors for the American Diabetes Association in Nashville, Tennessee.

He resides with his wife, Karen Unger, in Fort Lauderdale.

Professional Associations:

The Federation of Fire Chaplains is incorporated as a nonprofit, professional organization by the “Articles of Incorporation” dated June 15, 1992. The purpose of this organization is to bring together individuals and groups who are interested in providing effective chaplaincies for fire & rescue service organizations. To fulfill this purpose the Federation and its members exchange and share ideas and concerns that influence the quality of life of all members of the fire service and their families. These shared ideas and concerns should encourage and assist each one in developing the noblest of all human characteristics, service to others and to God, our Supreme Chief.

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of the Federation of Fire Chaplains is to bring together persons interested in providing an effective Chaplain Service: to give aid, comfort, and help to firefighters and their families; to work toward the betterment of all areas of the fire and emergency service. To serve God, to aid humanity, our communities, our government, our religions, our Country and the quality of life; to help mankind in developing their most noble characteristic that of serving others; to help bring about a better understanding among all people with mutual harmony and respect regardless of one’s level of authority; and to achieve a single healing, unifying spirit of love for God and each other.

The Federation is non-denominational, non-sectarian and calls for no compromise of either individual beliefs, not convictions. Our first responsibility is to God.

Second, to humanity. As Fire Chaplains, our work is not limited to the area of fire departments, firefighters, communities nor victims of the devastating ravages of fire or other crisis happenings. We shall strive to help ease the suffering of our fellow man wherever our paths shall lead. However, as a base for our work, we have chosen the Nation’s Fire Service, the acknowledged world’s most dangerous profession, and fire victims, whose suffering is that most beyond description.

The members of the Federation believe by bringing persons together to provide an effective response to Crisis Situations, by training, responding, in the work of the Chaplain, we will be able to achieve the goal of serving God and Humanity. This, with God’s help, we will strive to do.

Membership is open to all who are involved with the fire service chaplaincy. Some of our members are full-time career chaplains. The majority are volunteers. Others are firefighters or paramedics who have religious training, denominational officials, lay persons, or seminary students.

International Conference of Police Chaplains

“Serving all law enforcement chaplains since 1973”

Our Mission Statement:

“Developing professional law enforcement chaplains through dynamic education and support”

Our Core Values:

• We respect and honor the badge and the men and women who have earned the right to wear it.
• We pledge availability to the needs of law enforcement officers and victims of crime.
• We subject our lives and our office to the scrutiny of accountability to ensure integrity.
• We offer professionalism of service, including confidential listening, and spiritual counsel.

Police officers often say to us that “I wouldn’t do the difficult work you do for anything!” They are trained and able to face armed robbers or control an unruly crowd. But a sobbing parent at a SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) incident can erase even the most stoic officer’s composure.

Entering that saddest of moments is no easier for a chaplain, but the chaplain brings experience, training and skills to the tragedy that are as specialized as the law enforcement resources every officer develops with training and experience.

As a team, both chaplain and officer make an important difference in the lives of persons touched by tragedy. We work together.

Chaplains represent a wide variety of religious traditions and levels of professional preparation and endorsement. But when the chaplain is working in the police world, each is “chaplain” for everyone, not the religious leader of a particular tradition serving a particular congregation or service agency.

Chaplains serve many personal and spiritual needs of individuals where they are, when they need the support of another person who comes to them without judgment, with openness, and cares for them until the crisis moment is over.

Chaplains respect the persons they serve, even though there may be profound differences in race, gender, economic status, religious experience and many other factors.

Chaplains come at any hour, in all kinds of weather. Mostly, they listen. But they also comfort people who are shaking with fear with a gentle touch . . . or perhaps, if someone asks, a prayer will be offered in guarded privacy to support the trembling of spirit that comes in difficult moments.

Chaplains also understand the difficulties of public bureaucracies, assisting with the “red tape” moments of life for officers and the public alike. They spend many hours riding as active passengers with officers on patrol duty.

They also participate in a wide variety of training programs with their officer partners. Often chaplains are asked to teach classes dealing with stress, family life, relationships, ethics, and other issues.