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 intent of the rule was to move away from the large asylums of the time, some of which had become notorious for inhumane treatment. But small, community-based facilities never materialized in the numbers that were needed. -
The Sheriff’s Department partly blames a spike in COVID-19 cases. But experts say another part of the problem is the ever-increasing number of people with mental health disorders in L.A.’s jails.
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The move follows former DA Jackie Lacey's dismissal of 66,000 old pot convictions last year.
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Huntington Beach has partnered with a nonprofit provider that sends out two-person teams of crisis counselors to a range of calls involving non-violent mental health and substance use crises.
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The City Council voted Wednesday to request proposals for one or more contractors to head up a citywide pilot that will handle some behavioral health crises without the help of police.
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The June 30 explosion injured 27 people; the local city councilmember says the investigation confirms LAPD “negligence."
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The head of the school police officers union said one shooting involved two Santee students, the other involved two adults outside Maple Primary Center.
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If approved, the money would fund business grants, repairs, and mental health services for victims of the June 30 botched LAPD fireworks detonation that tore through a South L.A. Neighborhood.
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The agreement with the California Department of Justice comes after a years-long state investigation found Bakersfield police have carried out “unreasonable stops, searches, arrests, seizures,” and several other violations.
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A city council aide says the city is working "fast and furiously" to finish repairs and has put displaced households up in a hotel and given them $10,000 each.
