Tylor Chase, a former Nickelodeon child star, has recently gone viral on social media after snaps of him in a disheveled state shocked fans.
Amid much emotional outrage, his father Joseph Mendez Jr. breaks the silence, telling Daily Mail his son has been facing substance abuse after he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia in 2015.
“He’s a wonderful person when he’s Tylor,” he says, adding, “For over a decade, the family has sought treatment options for Tylor, including support for substance use as well as mental health care.”
Tylor’s father, who is a realtor in Georgia, reveals his son opted out of rehab after he was admitted in 2021. “He [Chase] later chose to discontinue medication and resumed substance use.”
The 36-year-old, after leaving recovery, went to California, where his mom, Paula Moisio, also a realtor, lives.
However, a clip in early September showed him caked in dirt while in tattered clothes, giving a hint that he is homeless.
Though he denied that he is homeless at this time. “I’m not really active homeless at this time, I’m thinking that I would like to go see my dad, relatively shortly, in the state of Georgia,” he tells the press, adding, “I have the whole setup to stay out there, a room out there hopefully […] Probably a housing assistance program in Georgia most likely.”
It is worth noting that Tyler is best known for Nickelodeon’s Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide.