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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In Boyle Heights, part of L.A. City Councilman Jose Huizar's district and also where he lives and grew up, locals have mixed feelings about his arrest this week. -
“They’re terrified,” says one volunteer with the phone service. “They know they’re vulnerable and going out there could really get them sick.”
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The bystander video shows three deputies roughly pinning Price on the ground, with one holding Price's head down with his leg and punching him once, and another kneeing him five times in the side.
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“This is going to go on for many, many months,” one protester said. “In fact it’s going to be a lifetime of work."
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One of the protests that happened today in L.A. today was the "Eastside Ride."
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A group of lawyers calling themselves the Protesters Defense Alliance is demanding that cases against protesters be dismissed. They’re also offering pro bono legal services for people who’ve been arrested while exercising their First Amendment rights.
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We drove across L.A. asking people about their relationship with police.
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People in Watts talk about how their area has so far been on the sidelines.
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In much of Los Angeles, anger over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis comes on top of more pain and anxiety -- including from the pandemic, which has hit some communities harder than others.
