California police department rolls out trauma response team to address mental health
By Brisa Colón
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WATSONVILLE, California (KSBW) — The Watsonville Police Department has rolled out a team of social workers and mental health experts called the Multidisciplinary Team with the hopes of fighting crime before it starts by addressing mental health.
“I think it’s easier for them to speak with me because I’m not in uniform,” said Meredith Flores, program coordinator of the team.
Growing up in Watsonville, being Hispanic, Flores says this team is critical to help the community fight some of its toughest challenges.
“I’m Hispanic so I know mental health sometimes can be a little bit stigmatizing in our culture so just being from here and being aware of that,” Foster said.
The team is a direct response of several recommendations made by the Ad Hoc Committee on Policing and Social Equity. This committee started back in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement. There was an outcry to law enforcement to focus more on mental health experts and social workers.
“The department and the city and the committee. They realized that we need more people on the floor, not necessarily officers. Right? So officers can go to the scene and it’s a traumatic event and they can take the information that they need. But then at the end of the day what else can be provided to these people impacted by trauma. And that’s where I come in,” Flores said.
The team goes in after crime happens. They help those that may experience trauma after instances offer such as a homicide or sexual assault case takes place.
Their goal is to prevent more crime from happening by helping people recover from traumatic incidents by providing them with resources from various agencies. Agencies such as Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance, Community Action Board, and Monarch Services.
“When you see situations in the media so much of it is focused on the victim and the person who caused the harm but what about everybody else that’s involved,” said Leeann Luna, program director with Monarch Services.
Luna says the team makes people getting the services they need easier.
“It really removes a lot of challenges and barriers not just for the families, but also for service providers,” Luna said.
The crisis response line at Monarch Services is reporting an exponential increase in calls and says the need in the community is the largest it’s been in a while.
“It’s important to address that so it doesn’t go unresolved because when trauma goes unresolved it can lead to a bunch of other things not necessarily the healthiest. So it can lead to mental health problems, substance use disorder. A lot of people who deal with unresolved trauma also engage in other unsafe behavior and activities,” Flores said.
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