Fentanyl Faces Two Fearsome Fort Bragg Femmes
I have met two extraordinary Fort Bragg women in the last few days that figure to make a major difference in the battle against fentanyl. One is Holiday Barrett, who graduated from Fort Bragg High School and who has created a new non profit that is already delivering Narcan and fentanyl education to her “old” school.
The second amazing woman is Chantarelle Hurdado.
Last Saturday while driving to work, I saw a big crowd outside of Town Hall waving signs. Ok this is nothing new as we all new, but this group was clearly different. After a U-turn I was talking to Chantarelle and her extended family of Koskis and others.
Chantarelle was holding a sign bearing a photo of her son, Andrew Hurtado, who died of a fentanyl overdose on June 2 at age 25. This family really wants to warn everyone about this fairly new street drug that is killing and addicting more than even heroin used to.
“Andrew had a huge heart and would give the shirt off his back for anyone,” Chantarelle Hurtado said. “His smile and laugh were contagious. He was a big jokester, always making us laugh. He loved life and loved hard. He wanted to see and travel the world. He is missed by his family and many others.” Hurtado explained that she and her family members wanted to save other young people’s lives—”if only people knew more about the problem.”
Nearly every weekend, some group or groups gather outside Town Hall carrying signs, often getting supportive toots on car horns. Church groups, the Women in Black, climate change activists, liberals and libertarians alike have all mounted events in front of Town Hall at State Route 1 and Laurel Street. But you don’t see that many Latino people, not since their huge protests of the 1990s and early 2000s.
Mrs. Hurtado had a poster showing the baby of her family having fun and living life as a normal kid, before he started getting into drugs and entered the spiral of arrests and other problems that comes with
Hurtado really wants to tell other moms, dads, sisters and brothers how to spot these problems and be ready to help. She also wants Mendocino County to crack down more on fentanyl dealers, who often get their clients started by secretly spiking other drugs like methamphetamine or even cannabis with fentanyl
“There have been at least four fentanyl overdose deaths this year right here in Fort Bragg,” Hurtado said, as family members chimed in, explaining that there is no way to really know how many people are dying of fentanyl overdoses in the county. Friendly honks continued on this sunny Saturday at about 2 p.m., and the family members waved and smiled at the cars.
As I talked with the friendly and helpful family members about these issues, a man driving a bright red Corvette slowed down and held his middle finger out to the group. Then he slowly drove on. The relatives were taken aback, and one said “Why would someone do that to us?” Another answered, “With a car that expensive, he is probably a dealer of this garbage.”
They were right about the number of deaths being suspect. Due to HIPAA, it is very difficult to count these deaths. Research done by other newsies shows the research done that says Mendocino County the hotspot of the state for fentanyl to be suspect. When Hurtado was interviewed later, she wanted to be sure the focus stayed on the critical issue of fentanyl use prevention. She feels local cops and prosecutors need to do more.
“We would like to see swift and thorough investigations into these deaths and murder charges for fentanyl dealers,” she said. “That is already happening in other counties, such as Lake County and across the country, and we would like to see Mendocino County follow suit.”
The city’s fentanyl task force meets for the second time on Wednesday, October 17. The meeting is not open to the public, but a community forum is planned at a date still to be set. “The first two meetings involve getting everyone up to speed on what is currently being done, where the deficiencies are, and how we can improve more,” said Fort Bragg Police Chief Neil Cervenka. The fentanyl task force is composed of between 12-15 members from diverse backgrounds, including students, educators, parents, business owners, medical professionals, community leaders, and elected officials, Cervenka told the City Council earlier this year. He said he hopes the task force will provide varied perspectives that may have been overlooked by the police department.
According to the U.S Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) fentanyl dealers often get people hooked by spiking the synthetic into methamphetamine or even marijuana they might also sell. When addicts want the much more powerful high of fentanyl, drug dealers sell them fentanyl at a higher price. Synthetic drugs like fentanyl have replaced products made from plants such as heroin, which was limited by the number of poppies. Fentanyl has no such limits and is used in medical settings, most often to treat severe pain after surgery, but only under the direct care of a physician. Fentanyl is a controlled schedule I drug that is about 100 times more powerful than morphine.
Cervenka agreed with what Hurtado said about the difficulty of knowing the number of local deaths.
“As I stated in a City Council meeting, overdoses are a medical issue and not a criminal issue,” he said, explaining that much of the information is governed by medical privacy. “Our stats come from OD Maps (overdose detection maps)… with information provided by hospitals, emergency medical service providers, and medical examiners. They are not our statistics, so it is challenging to verify others’ data.”The Mendocino Voice reached out to Mendocino County Public Health, but that agency did not have figures to offer about 2024 overdose deaths.
Mendocino County is often cited by media, law enforcement and health care providers as high among per capita opioid overdose rates. Is it really? A search of the California Department of Public Health’s figures shows 2021 statistics still being used, while the California Department of Justice uses 2020 numbers. Research into the numbers shows they are inconsistent and possibly unreliable. Many big city hospitals don’t test for opioids, and reporting is variable across the state. The California Department of Health reported that more than 65 percent of all drug overdoses are opioid overdoses.
Cervenka unveiled the Fort Bragg Community Task Force on fentanyl at a city council meeting on January 22nd. The Fort Bragg Police Department secured a $345,363 grant from the California Department of Health Care Service’s Youth Opioid Response program, making them the sole law enforcement agency in the state to receive a share of the $12 million legislated grant. That money has been spent on educational programs in local schools, but that funding has now expired.
“Grant funding for the opiate program did expire, but we are continuing many aspects of it as part of the Care Response Unit,” Cervenka said. The CRU is a highly regarded non-police response team that connects people to services and has helped homeless individuals find connections back to hometowns..
Cervenka told the council how a 2023 FBPD program had gotten 27 individuals into rehab, and conducted extensive Narcan training with widespread distribution throughout the community. The department has also intensified enforcement efforts, with an increased number of search warrants, narcotic investigations, and follow-ups on tips related to narcotic sales, Cervenka said.
The incorrect administration of Narcan can be a big issue. This reporter has been given samples of Narcan to administer on four different occasions, with no training suggested or provided. Many patients who are hardcore drug users need multiple doses of Narcan to save them. This information is not generally provided with Narcan doses.
Cervenka said officers are trained to administer Narcan beyond just giving what could be a lifesaving dose.
“The Narcan training FBPD provides includes the fact naloxone should be administered every two minutes until a patient regains consciousness. Additionally, we train to check for a pulse and do CPR if there is none. It doesn’t work if the blood is not circulating the medication to the brain. There are a lot of organizations distributing Narcan and I cannot say how they are training,” Cervenka said.
In 2023 “Melanie’s Law” imposed new standards for schools. It requires all middle and high schools to develop a plan to prevent and respond to fentanyl overdoses. It was named after Melanie Ramos, a 15-year-old student who was found dead in 2022 from a suspected fentanyl overdose in a bathroom at the high school she attended in Hollywood. The law requires schools to incorporate fentanyl prevention education into its health curriculum. It also requires that Narcan be available on campus.
“We were already doing more than what is required under this law,” said Fort Bragg Unified School District Superintendent Joseph Aldridge, who cited the grant program that the police department got for the schools, among others. The Mendocino Coast Clinics also works with the schools on programs. Aldridge said a big help is a new non profit started by 2023 Fort Bragg High School graduate Holiday Barrett. She was co-validictorian of the class.
“We are in the process of training every Fort Bragg High School student to identify an overdose and respond using Narcan. We have also been able to distribute Narcan to all FBHS students who are interested as well as some local organizations like the Fort Bragg Rotary Club,” Barrett said.
“Our method is always to educate and train before giving the (Narcan),” Aldridge said.
Aldridge said the district has other drug prevention programs. Fort Bragg Police Officer Rory Beak became the district’s School Resource Officer, a position that had gone unfilled for several years. Aldridge said Beak will be getting training for a revamped DARE (Drug Abuse Resource Education) program that should be available in schools. He said the program is far different than the famous and infamous DARE of the 1980s. New state laws also require each community college district and California State University campus to offer students free (Narcan) and provide preventative information on opioid overdose.
The extended Hurtado family also dealt with a second person giving them the middle finger. When they asked him why, he said he lived across the street above the stores.
“Do that in front of somebody else’s house,” the angry man said.
Chantarelle Hurtado pointed at the sign “Town Hall” and one family member said. “Town Hall, we the people” and another said “Town Hall, this is America, this is our house.”
We live in an age when we forget that America was founded by marching protesters who were killed by troops who didn’t like protesters in the Boston Massacre and who dressed up like natives to strike at globalization in the form of tea in Boston Harbor.
The Hurtados know their civics!
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Cutlines-
Chantarelle Hurtado (closest to cars) holds a sign showing the photo of her son Andrew Hurtado. Andrew died at age 25 of a fentanyl overdose. Relatives and friends of the Hurtado family held an informational protest of fentanyl last Saturday in front of Fort Bragg Town Hall. (Frank Hartzell via Bay City News)
In this photo of the Hurtado family; from left to right, Andrew’s eldest brother Alex Hurtado, middle brother Ryle Hurtado and dad Serafin “Junior” Hurtado are shown with Andrew, left of dad. (Photo submitted by Chantarelle Hurtado)
Andrew Hurtado and his mom, Chantarelle Hurtado. (Photo submitted by Chantarelle Hurtado)
