News & Commentary

By: Shanelle Matthews, ACLU of Northern California

By: Sandra Hernandez Listen to ACLU SoCal's interview with journalist, filmmaker and advocate Jose Antonio Vargas

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is poised to decide whether to undertake a massive expansion of the county’s sprawling jail system. The board should instead pause and rethink the misguided approach to fixing the inadequate treatment it provides inmates with mental illness.

Santa Ana’s City Council recently adopted a five-year strategic plan that, if properly implemented, promises to hold city leaders accountable to ensure they address community concerns.

As I set down my papers on the living room table for our interview, Yeni Gomez apologized while she cleared the space. 

I remember when I was five-years-old, my parents drove 500 miles from South Texas to Dallas to take my brothers and me to Six Flags, a well-known amusement park. It was a financial sacrifice for them, but they were not going to let summer go by without a vacation for their kids.