Early in his career, Summit County Sheriff Drew Alexander, then a rookie with the Akron Police Department, was sent to the grisly scene of a murder-suicide. When he arrived, he found a 2-year-old child had been shot in the head, killed by one of his parents.

''Here I am. That was 1972 and I still remember it like it was yesterday,'' Alexander said this morning.

Memories like that can haunt police officers, firefighters and the dispatchers who send them to the incidents, long after the event has passed, he said.

Today, officials announced an initiative to build the Summit County Safety Forces Chaplaincy Center at the Furnace Street Mission. The center, at 150 Furnace St., will provide confidential counseling for stress debriefing following critical incidents that occur on duty.

Members of Tri-County Building and Construction Trades Council will donate $150,000 in labor for the project.

''That is just an amazing act in this time of economic decline,'' said Garry Moneypenny, chief deputy with the sheriff's office.

Pat Darrow, president of the council that is made up of 16 trade unions, said the members hope to complete the project by fall.

Money for building supplies and materials will be raised through donations and fundraisers, such as a dog and suds event sometime in August, Moneypenny said.

The mission is the logical place for the program, the Rev. Bob Denton, chaplain for the Akron Police Department, said today. Denton's preacher father, Bill Denton, started the mission at its present site in 1926.

''Going back . . . the mission, in its ninth decade, always did what no one else did,'' Denton said.

Denton, the executive director of Victim Assistance, along with recently retired deputy mayor of public safety and retired Akron Police Chief Larry Givens and Akron police Detective Frank Martucci started the initiative about six months ago.

''[The] Rev. Denton wrote the concept to provide a private office for members of safety forces dealing with fatalities,'' Martucci said following the news conference held in the Summit County Council chambers.

Denton said the center will provide a safe haven for those who don't feel they can use some of the mental health resources available to the general public because of confidentiality reasons.

He cited statistics to back up the need for the chaplaincy, including alcoholism rates that are five times higher and depression rates that are 10 times higher for safety forces than for the general population.

''Depending on what study you cite, suicide rates [for safety personnel] vary from one every 22 hours or every 27 hours,'' Denton said.

Alexander said it might be 20 to 30 years before seeing the full benefit from this program.

''The old-time, salty cops — we won't admit we need it. The young cops — they are the driving force behind this,'' Alexander said.

Early in his career, Summit County Sheriff Drew Alexander, then a rookie with the Akron Police Department, was sent to the grisly scene of a murder-suicide. When he arrived, he found a 2-year-old child had been shot in the head, killed by one of his parents.

''Here I am. That was 1972 and I still remember it like it was yesterday,'' Alexander said this morning.

Memories like that can haunt police officers, firefighters and the dispatchers who send them to the incidents, long after the event has passed, he said.

Today, officials announced an initiative to build the Summit County Safety Forces Chaplaincy Center at the Furnace Street Mission. The center, at 150 Furnace St., will provide confidential counseling for stress debriefing following critical incidents that occur on duty.

Members of Tri-County Building and Construction Trades Council will donate $150,000 in labor for the project.

''That is just an amazing act in this time of economic decline,'' said Garry Moneypenny, chief deputy with the sheriff's office.

Pat Darrow, president of the council that is made up of 16 trade unions, said the members hope to complete the project by fall.

Money for building supplies and materials will be raised through donations and fundraisers, such as a dog and suds event sometime in August, Moneypenny said.

The mission is the logical place for the program, the Rev. Bob Denton, chaplain for the Akron Police Department, said today. Denton's preacher father, Bill Denton, started the mission at its present site in 1926.

''Going back . . . the mission, in its ninth decade, always did what no one else did,'' Denton said.

Denton, the executive director of Victim Assistance, along with recently retired deputy mayor of public safety and retired Akron Police Chief Larry Givens and Akron police Detective Frank Martucci started the initiative about six months ago.

''[The] Rev. Denton wrote the concept to provide a private office for members of safety forces dealing with fatalities,'' Martucci said following the news conference held in the Summit County Council chambers.

Denton said the center will provide a safe haven for those who don't feel they can use some of the mental health resources available to the general public because of confidentiality reasons.

He cited statistics to back up the need for the chaplaincy, including alcoholism rates that are five times higher and depression rates that are 10 times higher for safety forces than for the general population.

''Depending on what study you cite, suicide rates [for safety personnel] vary from one every 22 hours or every 27 hours,'' Denton said.

Alexander said it might be 20 to 30 years before seeing the full benefit from this program.

''The old-time, salty cops — we won't admit we need it. The young cops — they are the driving force behind this,'' Alexander said.