Featured Image Credit: Nickelodeon
Topics: Nickelodeon, Police, Charity, Mental Health
William Morgan
Warning: This article contains discussion of drug addiction which some readers may find distressing.
The campaign to get help for a children's TV star who has fallen on hard times and can sometimes be seen living rough on the streets of California saw a major update over the Christmas period.
In September, a video showing Tylor Chase, who played Martin Qwerly on Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide, appearing dishevelled went viral and sparked widespread concern about the former child actor.
The 36-year-old, who has struggled with his mental health after a three-year stint on the show, saw a surge of support after another video of him was shared on TikTok at the start of December, triggering a wave of support and renewed attempts to get the former child actor some help.
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This saw Chase hospitalized on Christmas Day, after a good Samaritan organized a mental health crisis team to visit him in Riverside, California. They agreed 'he needed immediate help' and admitted him for a 72-hour drug treatment - but he was back on the streets just 36 hours later.
The kind stranger who tried to help, Jacob Harris of local business Shipwreck Barbershop, shared an update on the campaign to help Chase on Instagram and how the Christmas intervention had gone.
He said: "They took him away in an ambulance, where he was supposed to be kept for a few days, sort of a Baker Act situation. They did not keep him. They released him in the middle of the night."
Harris then went out the next morning to see the former child actor and called in the crisis team again. But after being admitted for treatment the day before, they determined he did not need to be admitted as he was 'of sound mind, cleaned up and not in immediate danger.'
With Chase's recovery on the line, Harris said a rehab coach was flown out to meet him, but he 'was not, at the time, willing to accept help' for his substance abuse issues, which have kept him on the streets despite offers of assistance from former co-stars.
This has been a common refrain in the efforts to help Chase, who has previously explained his under-housed situation: "It's not really like that, I have friends and family. I stay around here locally. My mom is here. I have a lot of good people helping me.
"It's not too shabby. A lot of people help out. It goes a long way. I have family and friends, and the housing shelter assistance program. There's graceful charity from the grace of God's family people. That's a pretty chill aspect of it all."
Harris called on officials in Riverside to 'not let [Chase] slip through the cracks' and for members of the public to 'give him space' after his position went viral on social media, but also not be afraid to 'tell him you love him.'
Seeing Harris' hard work, former Ned's actor Daniel Curtis Lee thanked him for his kindness, saying: "Good man! The awareness was raised and the community is catalyzed to see this recovery happen! #longliveTylor."
Local officials have repeatedly offered Chase help during his time on the street, with the Riverside PD saying in a statement: "During their contacts, Public Safety Engagement Team officers consistently offer available services and resources aimed at connecting individuals with substance abuse treatment, mental health care, and other supportive services.
"Tylor has been offered these services but has declined assistance thus far. He has remained cordial and cooperative during his interactions with officers."
If you want friendly, confidential advice about drugs, you can call American Addiction Centers on (313) 209-9137 24/7, or contact them through their website.