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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Mental health experts say solitary confinement can be psychologically damaging. A bill in the state legislature would put limits on its use. -
An attorney representing the family of Rob Adams is criticizing police tactics and disputing the claim that he was armed with a gun when an officer opened fire.
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The Newsom administration champions CARE Court as an innovative way to facilitate treatment to people with serious mental illnesses. But dozens of organizations say it’s too coercive, questioning its efficiency.
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The new easy-to-remember number is billed as an alternative to 911 for people in psychiatric distress.
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Teen Line trains between 60-80 L.A.-based youth a year to answer calls from their peers who may be experiencing a mental health crisis.
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Mental health nonprofits across the state are training counselors to answer psychiatric emergency calls in anticipation of the hotline’s launch on July 16.
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“This ruling ignores not only precedent but science, and will exacerbate the mental health crisis America is already experiencing,” the president of the American Psychological Association said in a statement.
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JusticeLA and other groups want to see the county invest in 3,600 new community-based mental health beds.
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El Monte Mayor Jessica Ancona told the news conference Tuesday that the officers were “essentially ambushed.”
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Advocates, outreach workers and others are pushing to see the 350 bed facility opened up for medical and mental health care services after closing down in 2020.
