At Crooked Lake Library, Coon Rapids Rewrites What Public Safety Looks Like

COON RAPIDS, MN
On a quiet Thursday afternoon inside the Crooked Lake Branch of the Anoka County Library, there is no squad car idling out front, no flashing lights, no sense of urgency that usually accompanies a call for help. Instead, there is a table, a chair, and a conversation.

This is the setting chosen by the City of Coon Rapids and the Coon Rapids Police Department for one of their most quietly transformative public safety initiatives: a monthly “Meet the Social Worker” session that brings embedded, licensed mental health professionals directly into the community.

The next session takes place Thursday, February 5, 2026, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Anoka County Library – Crooked Lake Branch. It is free, walk-in, confidential, and intentionally uncomplicated. No appointment. No paperwork. No ID required.

For city leaders, this simplicity is the point.

A different entry point into help

The library sessions are an extension of Coon Rapids’ Embedded Social Worker Program, a co responder model that pairs licensed mental health professionals with police officers to address situations rooted not in criminal behavior, but in crisis.

Across Minnesota and the country, police departments have confronted the same reality: a large share of 911 calls involve mental health distress, substance use, housing instability, or family crisis. Historically, those calls have funneled people into emergency rooms, jail cells, or court systems that were never designed to solve underlying problems.

Coon Rapids chose a different route.

“The goal is diversion,” the city has said in multiple public updates. Diversion away from arrest. Diversion away from unnecessary hospitalization. Diversion toward services that stabilize lives before a situation escalates.

From pilot to permanent

The program began as a part time pilot in 2021. Its results were immediate and measurable. During that initial phase, embedded social workers handled nearly 2,000 referrals, helping residents navigate county and state systems for housing assistance, food support, financial aid, treatment programs, and mental health care.

In 2022, the city made the program permanent, hiring its first full time embedded mental health professional. In April 2025, it expanded again, adding a second grant funded position and later a mental health intern, reflecting both growing demand and growing confidence in the model.

City officials have reported that, following the shift to a full time program, mental health related repeat calls declined for the first time in several years, a key metric in assessing long term impact.

The professionals behind the work

Residents who attend the Crooked Lake Library sessions may meet one of two licensed professionals who rotate through community outreach events.

Lori Halbur, a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, has led the program since its expansion to a full time model. As a civilian embedded within the police department, she serves as a bridge between residents, officers, and the complex web of county and state services that often feel inaccessible during crisis.

In 2025, the team expanded to include Jess Hoppe, a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Addiction Counselor. Her presence allows the department to provide specialized support for residents navigating chemical dependency, one of the most persistent drivers of repeat emergency calls.

Together, they represent a shift in how authority and care coexist within public safety.

What help can look like

During the drop in sessions, assistance may include support related to:

• Mental health concerns
• Substance use and recovery
• Homelessness or housing insecurity
• Food insecurity
• Financial instability
• Job related stress or unemployment
• Parenting or child related concerns
• Aging and older adult services

The work often involves listening first, then connecting residents to the right doors inside Anoka County and Minnesota systems that can be overwhelming to navigate alone.

Why the library matters

Holding the sessions at a public library is a deliberate choice. By placing help in a neutral, familiar setting rather than a police station, the city lowers psychological barriers that keep many people from seeking support until a crisis forces contact with law enforcement.

These monthly sessions, held on the first Thursday of each month except holidays, function as early intervention. They address quality of life issues before they harden into emergencies that demand a 911 response.

In that sense, the program is less about responding to crisis than about preventing the next one.

A quiet redefinition of safety

There is no press conference, no ribbon cutting, no dramatic announcement. But in a city where public safety increasingly means navigating trauma, instability, and unmet needs, the presence of a social worker at a library table may be one of the most consequential policy choices Coon Rapids has made.

It is governance at human scale. A reminder that sometimes the most effective public safety tool is not authority, but access.

And on Thursday afternoon, at Crooked Lake Library, access is exactly what is being offered.

MinneapoliMedia