A Mendocino County grand jury has commended Fort Bragg’s CARE Response Unit (CRU) for its innovative approach to homelessness, calling it a “workable, friendly, and vitally essential program” in a new report that also recommended broader implementation.
The CRU program, launched in 2022, pairs social service workers with individuals experiencing homelessness, offering food, shelter, counseling, and medical care—typically without police intervention. The program aims to reduce the strain on law enforcement by redirecting resources toward social support rather than petty crime enforcement.
Despite early praise, some county officials had expressed concerns about the program's broader impacts. In a Board of Supervisors meeting last September, Health Services Director Jenine Miller said she had heard anecdotal reports of a 225% increase in arrests in Fort Bragg since the program’s launch. “I haven’t seen [the data], and I haven’t been able to ask the chief about it,” she said, noting the need for further review.
Fort Bragg Police Chief Neil Cervenka, however, in an interview cited data that shows a steep decline in arrests involving homeless individuals. “Of total arrests from 2019, over 54% were of homeless people,” he said in a 2024 interview with KZYX. “Year to date, we’re at 17.8%.”
Cervenka welcomed the grand jury’s findings, noting that the CRU program was initially experimental and outside the box. “We didn’t know if we were going to succeed or fail in the beginning, but it has become a great success,” he said. “The grand jury and their independent investigation showed what Fort Bragg PD is doing is correct.”
One criticism noted in the report was that individuals who decline services may simply leave the city, shifting the burden to surrounding areas.
Captain Thomas O’Neal addressed the criticism, saying the department does not transport people who refuse services to other jurisdictions. “We’ve used the County’s Homeward Bound program approximately eight times over the last three years,” he said, adding that the program helps reunite people with family or support networks elsewhere. “We maintain records and verify that they were successfully reconnected.”
Last year, Fort Bragg Police Department obtained funding to expand the program to the Village of Mendocino, and part-time CRU member began working with homeless people in the coastal village in January.
On Monday night, the police department held a public outreach meeting in Mendocino to discuss the expansion. Mendocino County Supervisor Ted Williams, who attended the meeting, said he was encouraged by the program’s southward reach.
“I was pleased to see the City of Fort Bragg bringing their outstanding CRU program as far south as the town of Mendocino,” Williams said. “This is the first step.” The program is currently funded through Proposition 47 for approximately 42 months.
Williams said future goals include extending the program to Point Arena, though challenges remain. “They’re sending people who are social service liaisons—no badge, no gun,” he said. “We don’t want to send them into situations where they actually need law enforcement. I think it’s important that they have a law enforcement partner nearby.”
The Mendocino County Civil Grand Jury recommended verified results from the Care Response Unit program, both positive and negative, be reported to the City Council of Fort Bragg by December 2025. In addition the grand jury recommended a county program known as CORE (Community Outreach Response and Engagement program) work together with CRU.
Cervenka said the Fort Bragg Police Department and Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, which is developing CORE along with the county Behavioral Health Dearpartment and Social Services Department, are in discussions.
