Freddy is born and raised in LA and has lived here his entire life. He is 46 years old, and is the last member of his family that he knows of as all his known family has passed on. Freddy has been mentally disabled most of his adult life as he began experiencing panic attacks and early signs of schizophrenia during high school. His adult life became increasingly more difficult as he was unable to complete any subsequent level of education and his symptoms grew increasingly worse.
Freddy has tried numerous times over the years to hold different labor jobs but his panic attacks and severe anxiety brought on by his condition made it near impossible to properly execute basic tasks. The issue became self-fulfilling in many ways as he described to me how his crippling fear of his own condition and symptoms would lead him to worry that they would prevent him from being able to fulfill the tasks that were assigned to him and that fear would in itself bring about the onset of those said symptoms. Over the years, he has tried working all kinds of odd jobs including working at thrift stores, landscaping, and others where he simply wasn’t able to manage his symptoms and condition, despite numerous attempts at doing so.
Although wearing gear that resembles that of a military service member, he has never been in the military as they had rejected his application to join given his condition. He has been to the mental hospital to seek treatment but described the environment and treatment as being counter-productive and that other patients there are of far worse condition than he is. Freddy has resided at the corner of Yale and Santa Monica since 2001, indicating that homeless shelters can be very dangerous where others and convicts will assault and steal from him. He currently survives on a disability credit card that is funded with a meager ~$200/month but also gets some additional support from begging on the street. When asked what could be done to help, he responds that he has given up on trying to hold a job and has been resigned to his situation for quite a while now.
Freddy enjoys reading newspapers and books in his time.
Please send any book donations to 1108 S. Bundy Dr., Los Angeles CA 90049, and those books will be provided to Freddy. For any ideas or job opportunities that would provide unlimited flexibility as to the execution of any required tasks and thus help alleviate any sense of pressure, please contact [email protected]