Brian Cahill

Brian Cahill retired in late 2008 as the executive director of San Francisco Catholic Charities after forty years in social services. He was formerly the director of the San Francisco Department of Social Services. A few days after his retirement, his oldest son, a veteran San Jose, CA police officer, took his life.

Since 2011 Mr. Cahill has been a volunteer suicide prevention trainer for the San Francisco Police Department, telling his son’s story, summarizing current research on law enforcement and suicide and warning officers about the hidden risks of their work. He also speaks periodically to San Jose PD officers and to various police departments throughout northern California. He is also a volunteer in prison ministry, co-leading a weekly spirituality group for eighteen San Quentin lifers.

His writing on religion and public policy, including a number of pieces on cops and suicide, has been published in the San Francisco Chronicle, National Catholic Reporter (NCR), and CNN Online. He is the author of Cops, Cons and Grace, A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Suicide, published in early 2018.

Brian lives in San Francisco with his wife Donna. He is the father of four, grandfather of two, and recently became a great grandfather.