Nickelodeon Star Tylor Chase's Dad Reveals Son's Struggle With 'Refusing Treatment'

In an era where child stars are often celebrated for their precocious talent, the reality of the 'after-fame' can be devastatingly different. For Tylor Chase, once the fast-talking, brainy Martin Qwerly in the Nickelodeon hit Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, the spotlight has returned in the most tragic of ways.

A series of viral videos, shared across social media this December, has revealed the 36-year-old living on the streets of Riverside, California, sparking a nationwide conversation about mental health, the pressures of early stardom, and the limitations of the support systems meant to catch those who fall.

The footage, which shows a dishevelled Chase scavenging behind a 7-Eleven, has struck a chord with a generation who grew up with him on their screens. However, behind the viral clips lies a decade-long battle with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia—a battle his family says they have been fighting alongside him with little success.

The Family's Decade-Long Fight For Tylor Chase

For Tylor's father, Joseph Mendez Jr., the viral footage is not a revelation but a painful public iteration of a private nightmare. Speaking with a sense of weary desperation, Mendez revealed that the family has spent over ten years attempting to steer Tylor toward stability.

'He's a wonderful person when he's Tylor,' Mendez shared, reflecting on the son he remembers before the onset of severe mental illness and substance abuse in 2015.

The struggle has been one of repeated cycles: hope, treatment, and relapse. In 2021, the family successfully convinced Tylor to enter a rehabilitation facility in Georgia, but the breakthrough was short-lived.

'He later chose to discontinue medication and resumed substance use,' Mendez explained. This refusal to adhere to a treatment plan is the crux of the family's current agony. While Tylor's mother, Paula Moisio, remains close to him in California, she has had to warn the public against direct financial donations, explaining that without the ability to manage his own money or health, such charity can often do more harm than good.

A Glimmer of Hope Amidst The Tylor Chase Crisis

Despite the grim reality of his situation, the last few days of 2025 have seen a surge of support from those who once worked in the same soundstages. Daniel Curtis Lee, who played 'Cookie' alongside Chase, recently located his former co-star in Riverside.

In a reunion that was both heart-wrenching and hopeful, Lee provided Tylor with a hot meal and secured a hotel room to offer him a temporary reprieve from the winter rain. 'Well fed and safe from the rain. Hotel secured!' Lee shared on Instagram, noting that the goal is now to move 'one step closer to long-term treatment.'

Tylor himself remains a complex figure in this narrative. While Riverside police describe him as 'cordial and cooperative' during their weekly check-ins, Tylor often downplays his own circumstances, claiming he is 'not really active homeless' and expressing a desire to return to his father in Georgia.

His internal reality, however, is clouded by the five psychiatric medications he admits to taking, even while denying a formal diagnosis. As 2026 approaches, the hope remains that this groundswell of support—from family, fans, and former colleagues—will finally be the catalyst Tylor Chase needs to accept the help he has so long resisted.