Robert Garrova
I cover mental health at a time when L.A. — and the nation — is failing people who live with a serious mental illness. The L.A. County jail system is the de-facto mental health institution for our region, and people who want help with their mental health often can’t get it, even if they can afford it. I’ll work to help Angelenos understand how we got here and what reforms aim to change things. I’ll do this through the stories of people struggling with their own mental health and those trying to get care for a loved one.
My reporting has taken me to the edge of wildfires in California, the White Mountains of New Hampshire, steps away from a robot that’s now exploring Mars, and into the homes of countless Angelenos.
I’ve had many jobs in radio. I used to help produce and direct the flagship show for Marketplace, a daily business and economic news show. I also spent a couple years in the Northeast working as a reporter. I found my love of audio journalism while interning on LAist's (formerly KPCC’s) Off-Ramp in 2013.
I was born and raised in SoCal. I’m most proud when my journalism can help raise the voices of people struggling in this beautiful region stricken by inequality.
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The new program, called CARE Court, allows family members and others to petition a court to step in with a care plan for someone living with serious, untreated mental illness. -
A plan to turn a property across the street from the Men’s Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles into interim housing is in line with a larger "Care First, Jails Last" policy.
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Goals include centralizing dispatch operations and evaluating crisis response programs that provide alternatives to police.
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Police say they’re working to de-escalate confrontations with people in crisis, but an LAist investigation found deadly outcomes persist.
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The officers are the latest to be temporarily removed from duty while authorities investigate youth-on-youth violence at the Downey facility.
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More than half of proposed new positions would go to the Department of Mental Health. Some critics say that’s still far less than what’s needed.
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Tenants say the plan is not a long term solution to keeping units affordable for them.
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Caltrans workers are worried about a large boulder above the roadway and unstable land movement beneath it.
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Tenants in the 124-unit Chinatown complex say provisions in the deal for payment of back rent would make rents unaffordable for some.
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L.A. County plans to hire staff for eight new teams of mental health clinicians to follow up with people after a mental health crisis.
