The San Diego Police Department (SDPD) is looking for more people to join its Crisis Intervention program.

“If you have been in a tragedy yourself, you know what it is to have someone to help you and walk you through things,” Kathy Leach, an SDPD crisis intervention volunteer, told NBC 7.

The program and its volunteers operate 24 hours each day, seven days each week responding to calls alongside police officers that involve some form of crisis.

“Sometimes people think [of] crisis intervention, they think they need to be a counselor,“ Officer Mariam Sadri said. “That’s not it.”

Sadri explained that volunteers with the crisis intervention program often respond to death-related calls, and their primary job duties are to provide compassion and an ear to listen.

“Anyone who’s empathetic, willing to sit and talk to someone and listen to them, that’s what we need,” Sadri said.

It is something that police officers would love to do, but might not always have time to do when they are processing a scene, she added.

Leach has been with the program for nearly one year. She graduated from the most recent crisis intervention academy and said while calls can be emotional, it is well worth it.

“When I get back in my car, yes, you know, you shed some tears, but you’re strong for them,” Leach said. “Helping people is just the biggest reward.”

Leach said the program should have 100 volunteers, but there are now 60. Sadri added that during the pandemic the program lost some participants and never regained its strength.

Both of them want that to change.

“The police department just logistically doesn’t have the staffing to do or give the service, so to have more volunteers means that we’ll never have to turn down a call,” Sadri said. “That’s ideally our goal.”

To be a volunteer, candidates must be 21 years old or older, live or work within or near the San Diego city limits and must have a good driving record and an operational car, among other requirements. Volunteers who are selected must also be available for a 100-hour academy that begins in January.

The mandatory training dates are:

• Jan. 20
• Jan. 27
• Feb. 10
• Feb. 17
• Feb. 24
• Mar. 2

To learn more about how you can volunteer with SDPD, click here.