[*Anya*]

I work in a county behavioral health system.

I have no official statistics for you.

What I bring is my personal experience and how much it troubles me. I am more than aware of white privilege every day.

I run group counseling sessions for young men with primary mental illness and co-existing substance abuse diagnoses.

In this very rich county that I work, in every group of 10 males from 18-years-old to 50-years old, 8 of the 10 are Hispanic, one is white and one is African-American.

They are on probation or parole (Hispanics or blacks). The white males are on probation.

50-70% of the Hispanics in my group have been in jail or prison multiple times.

The white males, even if arrested a couple of times have had no prison time-just very short stints in county jail (if that).

The arrests? For all, possession or sale of methamphetamine or heroin, or paraphernalia or for all at the same time.

When I read about their cases or talk to their PO's, I don't hear much difference in their cases.

The main difference that I can see is their socio-economic status, skin color and the outcome of their trials.