[Rotary] Subject: Notes of Meeting of 7/25/24

[Donna Schuler]

Good morning,

During the meeting, when Fort Bragg Police Chief Cervenka provided the
email address that we could send letters of support to, I sent a quick
email (below) to the Prop 47 funding committee to urge their funding of the
FBPD application. Jeff's excellent minutes give the important details of
why this funding is needed. Have you heard of the expression "catch and
release" of people arrested for committing crimes, where they then are out
on the street over and over without addressing root problems? This is what
the Fort Bragg police department, with the support of the City of Fort
Bragg, has been doing. It is a very coordinated approach with strong
relationships with existing community agencies and community based
organizations. My message from my mobile phone from me seat in the pew was:

To: <prop47 at bscc.ca.gov>, <rotary at lists.mcn.org>


Our county suffers among the highest rates of overdose, homeless, and
mental health crisis, and needs the prop 47 funding that will increase the
funding for the existing Project Right Now work the Fort Bragg Police
department has been carrying out. The FBPD has a proven record in a short
amount of time of reducing arrests, incarceration, and instead getting the
needed substance abuse treatment and mental health services they need.
Donna Schuler, MPH

Sent from Gmail Mobile

If you would, please write a letter to the Prop 47 committee to urge
funding, using the above email to send your letter. Here is the funding
application (I think) packet link, otherwise known as the request for
proposals (RFP) if you want to read more.
https://www.bscc.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Prop-47-RFP-Cohort-4-FINAL-5-1-24.pdf

Thank you,
Donna

On Thu, Jul 25, 2024 at 6:03 PM Jeffry Stubbs via Rotary <
rotary at lists.mcn.org> wrote:

> Hello Rotarians,
>
> We had an excellent meeting today, in the Sanctuary of the Presbyterian
> Church organized with the help of Matt Davis and Tammy. Margaret opened the
> meeting with the usual pleasantries, and welcomed our guests. We did the
> pledge, and collected happy dollars. Persons present included Board members
> Margaret Black, Jeff Stubbs, Brandt Stickel, Trevor Kuchar, Donna Schuler
> and Matt O'Halloran. Others present included Matt Davis, Ray Alarcon,
> Michael Brown and Susan Keller, previous members LaDonna and Rick
> MacDonald, prospective members Cathy Karabensh and Susan Cimmyotti,
> Speaker, Fort Bragg Police Chief and Rotarian Neil Cervenka, Advocate-News
> and Beacon reporter/photographer Mary Benjamin, and several guests.We
> collected $63 from happy dollars and venue fees.
>
> Margaret introduced speaker Police Chief Neil Cervenka, who delivered an
> inspirational, motivational and informative talk about the Fort Bragg
> Police Department's Care Response Unit (CRU). He began with the Marbut
> Report, published in 2018, by a researcher who lived with the homeless in
> Fort Bragg and wrote a report with specific recommendations for action
> which led to the creation of the CRU. The Marbut Report had produced 14
> recommendations which led to the creation of the CRU by the City of Fort
> Bragg and then made the Unit and the city a model for the state and the
> nation. Chief Cervenka said that homelessness is a multi-factor problem,
> not adequately dealt with by the normal government agencies and police
> departments with their service boundaries and barriers to communications
> between agencies. When working with the homeless and others with mental
> health issues it was necessary to build trust, help people get out of
> survival mode, engage in ego development, deal with drug and alcohol
> dependencies and ultimately help people into rehabilitation. To do this the
> CRU had sought persons committed to their work, with backgrounds in
> education, psychology and behavioral sciences, not social work. In 2023 the
> CRU had served 300 community members, provided 112 clients with multiple
> services, and helped 21 clients move into rehabilitation. The CRU worked
> with the police, and maintained connections with the DA's office, the
> Public Defender and Probation. As a result of its work, arrests of such
> persons had dropped from 54% in 2022 to 37% in 2023. Lives had been saved,
> and costs had been reduced. The CRU is funded at present by a grant which
> is up for renewal under Proposition 47 Cohort 4. Under the proposed renewal
> grant a 3rd CRU staff member would be hired and the service would be
> extended south to Albion and north to Westport.
>
> A question and answer period followed during which Chief Cervenka
> explained that the CRU was already making contacts in Mendocino schools, in
> which there are problems with drug use in the Junior High and High Schools
> and with drug experimentation in the elementary school. Although the CRU
> program was regarded as highly successful and the Chief had been working to
> get Proposition 47 approved, its passage was not certain. On the far left
> people were reluctant to provide money to police departments and on the far
> right they were reluctant to provide money to deal with homelessness and
> mental health issues. In response to a question he said that people who
> supported Proposition 47 should make their views known at
> Prop47 at bscc.ca.gov. Margaret thanked Chief Cervenka after which the
> meeting moved on to ordinary business.
>
> Margaret urged members to obtain and sell Dinner Raffle tickets as time
> was getting short for a drawing in August. She said that our next meeting,
> which will be attended by the District Governor, will be a Board meeting on
> Wednesday July 31 in Preston Hall. Following that meeting there will be a
> dinner that evening with the DG at the Grove and a joint meeting with Fort
> Bragg Rotary the following day which will be August 1.
>
> We closed with the drawing which was won by Mr. Lucky Brown.
>
> Thanks all.
>
> Jeff Stubbs, Secretary
> Rotary Club of Mendocino
> P.O. Box 102, Mendocino, CA 95460
> Home phone 707-937-6026
> I phone 707-536-6190
> Skype phone 707-397-5620
> Skype name jeffrystubbs
>
> _______________________________________________
> Rotary mailing list
> Rotary at lists.mcn.org
> https://lists.mcn.org/mailman/listinfo/rotary
>
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