Here's to HOPE: Barksdale Chapel seeks to improve lives of Airmen

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jaiyah Lewis
  • 2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs

If you’re going through rough waters and a storm starts brewing, look for the lighthouse. When Airmen at Barksdale Air Force Base see a HOPE specialist, they will see that lighthouse.

Hope is available, Opportunity exists, People care and Expect great things. These are the words behind the acronym HOPE. Their mission, however, is far deeper than words.

A specialist is a member of the HOPE initiative, which the Barksdale Chapel established in February of this year. HOPE is a program that consists of more than just Airmen. HOPE specialists can be civilians, retirees, or spouses – all who are spiritually fit individuals who raise people up and spread hope and love where it’s needed.

“We are embedding people so they can be an extension of the initiative,” said Patrick “Patches” Catanese, a member of HOPE leadership. “It’s about being a community where everybody has the opportunity to come in and participate.”

Becoming a HOPE specialist is no small feat. It requires 20 hours of classroom work and 40 volunteer hours where members learn to foster their skills in spiritual fitness, privileged communication, religious accommodation, moral reasoning, relationship building, listening and suicide prevention. Following course completion is a graduation where trainees earn the title of HOPE specialist and can now wear the HOPE tab.

“The HOPE tab is more than just a patch,” said Airman 1st Class Luis Medina III, a HOPE specialist. “All these things we’re learning, it’s a basis of showing your love for others. I’ve been learning a lot about how to love lately. I feel like that was a big thing of what I got from the training.”

Upon improving these skills, specialists learn to put their expertise into action through interactive conversations with their fellow Wingmen.

“We don’t want our teachings to be a briefing,” said Capt. DJ Kim, a chaplain and member of HOPE leadership. “We want it to be a conversation.”

When starting out, the chapel sought out areas that had a need for the initiative through a needs assessment. A religious support team analyzed data from about 600 Airmen living in the dorms. After analyzing the data, they engaged with logistics, maintenance, security forces and other units to check on Airmen. They found that a lot of Airmen go to the gym, get food and stay in their dorms, as opposed to getting involved with each other and the community.

“We didn’t want to make a splash we wanted to make a wave,” said Patches. “We hit the areas we thought would be impacted the most.”

Through that, they assembled their first class and have since graduated many specialists. At the end of the day, HOPE specialists are here to shed light on their fellow Airmen and the community.

HOPE leadership holds monthly team building sessions for the specialists where they do wellness checks with each other and talk about what is going on in their lives. The HOPE initiative is still growing and is always looking for new members who are willing to be a pillar for others.

“While growing HOPE, we didn’t look for quantity,” said Patches. “We look for quality and when you have quality, it’ll quantify itself. HOPE is not just a program but a way of life and a community that requires commitment and protection.”

Some may be hesitant to join, thinking that because it’s the with the chapel, it’s going to be religion based. However, specialists are taught to coexist respectfully and operate peacefully with one another for the betterment of their communities and units.

Anyone interested in becoming a HOPE specialist, contact the Chapel at 318-456-2111 or visit the Barksdale Chapel and talk to the chapel staff.