Ricky Rodas

2 weeks ago | calhealthreport.org | Ricky Rodas

On a recent weekend, Maria Casas was tending to her plots at La Madera Community Garden in El Monte. Casas carefully watered her brightly colored flowers, zucchini and plump, red tomatoes in the garden plot nestled in Los Angeles’ San Gabriel Valley. Once the tomatoes are ripe, she’ll pick them and make sauce in bulk, preserving the harvest in mason jars. “Instead of going to the store and buying what we need, we are going to the garden and harvesting it,” Casas said.

2 months ago | calhealthreport.org | Ricky Rodas

Wyatt Ahders had a routine. Every week, the 18-year-old would step out his front door and walk to friends’ houses in the neighborhood. Along the way, he’d stop and exchange hellos with any neighbors he passed. Then that routine was disrupted. The Ahders’ family home burned in the recent Palisades fire. Along with it, Ahders, who has autism, lost his familiar schedule that brought him a sense of security.

2 months ago | elreporterosf.com | Ricky Rodas

by Ricky Rodas for Yes! Magazine. When Cecilia González told family members she had volunteered to share her life story with men in prison, they were shocked. González, 56, had spent most of her adult life recovering from the pain and trauma of childhood abuse and domestic violence. She has a loving family and a stable marriage of 25 years. Her family couldn’t understand why she would want to talk to the kind of person she’d spent her life trying to escape.

Mar 12, 2025 | laprogressive.com | Ricky Rodas |Rob Maurer

When Cecilia Gonzalez told family members she had volunteered to share her life story with men in prison, they were shocked. Gonzalez, 56, had spent most of her adult life recovering from the pain and trauma of childhood abuse and domestic violence. She has a loving family and a stable marriage of 25 years. Her family couldn’t understand why she would want to talk to the kind of person she’d spent her life trying to escape.

Mar 10, 2025 | yesmagazine.org | Ricky Rodas

Why you can trust us When Cecilia Gonzalez told family members she had volunteered to share her life story with men in prison, they were shocked. Gonzalez, 56, had spent most of her adult life recovering from the pain and trauma of childhood abuse and domestic violence. She has a loving family and a stable marriage of 25 years. Her family couldn’t understand why she would want to talk to the kind of person she’d spent her life trying to escape.