Police Chief recognizes work of local mental health experts, mayor

Fort Bragg Interim Police Chief, John Naulty, released a special statement last week, thanking certain members of the community for their assistance with mental health-related calls.

“The police department receives dozens of calls a week that are beyond our training of expertise in mental health,” Naulty wrote. “Instead of neglecting these calls, the listed agencies have collaborated with our department to help navigate people suffering from mental illnesses to proper care and resources.”

Those he thanked were the Redwood Quality Management Company, including Camille Schraeder and her team of mental health experts; the County of Mendocino Adult Protective Services managers, Bekkie Emery and Kelsey Rivera; and

Fort Bragg Mayor Bernie Norvell, for his work with Schraeder.

He specifically mentioned two occasions; one where Schraeder, Emery and Rivera recently provided care and aid to two individuals suffering from dementia that were causing multiple calls for service daily to the Fort Bragg Police Department for several weeks.

In another incident the experts became involved in, a person had been calling 911 several times a day. “In one day, they called over thirty times,” Naulty wrote.

“Each of these agencies provided social workers to these individuals enabling the officers to have a direct communication to them, which drastically reduced the calls for service related to these community members,” Naulty wrote.

Naulty also said that Mayor Norvell has been working with Schraeder “to find innovative ways for all of these available services to work together.”

“Mayor Norvell has been able to negotiate and connect several resources to problem-solve issues and ensure that quality of life is for everyone,” Naulty wrote.

Norvell said everyone has been “working hard to solve the gaps in mental health services.”

“We are all aware the system is not perfect,” he said. “All of this is proof that when you hire the right people and put them in a position to be successful and can get them together to address the needs, success will always be the outcome. The goal has to be public safety for the community, compassion and wellbeing for the clients, and a willingness by all those in charge to carry out these goals.”