Dad with schizophrenia reached out after 13 years

My dad is homeless and severely schizophrenic, has been unmedicated for years and is just now reaching out after 13 years. We don’t know how to help him or what the first steps are. If you know where to direct him or can give some guidance please let me know. My sister (27) and i (24) are doing this ourselves. This is a long read that contains the lore but if u don’t feel like reading it, please feel free to skip past it and just directing us if maybe you’ve dealt with this as well.

My dad (53 now) was diagnosed with stage 2 schizophrenia at 22. He also has BPD. Root cause? Who ever knows.. i think it was mostly trauma induced due to the fact he had a very messed up childhood- SA’d as a young boy, father involved in drugs and eventually in prison for life for RAing a woman violently. Despite his violent childhood, he never hurt A FLY. Always taught me and sisters to be good and kind.My older sister has also been diagnosed with schizophrenia and deals with very disturbing hallucinations, similar to my dad.. where they ask them selves- is that rlly there? They both hear and see things that aren’t there and throw them completely off.

My dad turned to alcohol in 2013, I’m like 11 at this point and that was the last straw for my mom. Haven’t seen him since. Well he gave me $20 and then said his goodbyes first.

Child hood with a schizophrenic dad? Well it was mostly a blast with him. He is an amazing person, an artist and a kind soul. He had us doing all sorts of creative projects- farming, stop motion animation, painting, baking, sculpting, animation. He would take us on camping trips. He was very into camping and always studied heavy into survival (foreshadowing). I would wake up on a random Wednesday, look into the corner where he kept his gear and if it was gone, i know that i wouldn’t see him again for weeks to months. Then, he would come back, and help my mom of two jobs finally around the house to watch their 3 kids, cook some bomb ass food, help us clean, and be a good dad/partner until his next departure. This was the normal in our childhood. He always left when it got rlly bad so we didn’t see him at his worst. He would be on and off his meds, thinking he would be cured of his disease. This makes his condition worse, going off and on medication.

So then he leaves for good. The longest was a year at that time in my childhood. But this time it’s been 13 years. Over these 13 years, i don’t talk to him for like 10. For the first 3 years he was messaging me via Facebook then nothing. He rented a house nearby for a little bit then he ended up moving to my rich aunts house 8 hours north where he would then try to get himself together. Obviously at this point he is fully unmedicated. He would only try to earn money with his art work. His art work becomes increasingly bad as his condition gets worse. He flees from rich aunties house, before this, he stays at a hotel and finally meets his half sister. (Ik this bc she told me) this is where my communication with him completely drops off. Long lost sister tells me he hears voices of him hurting people and needed to be alone. He then checks out of the hotel without anyone’s knowledge and fully goes off the grid to live in the woods. It was an obvious decline and his downfall is posted all over his Facebook timeline. His posts on Facebook would become increasingly concerning. He would post camping tips, his tent while living off the grid. The worst posts would be of him posting a woman from behind in a line at McDonald’s with the caption, “need a freak at McDonalds”, but the worst was a picture of what looks like a 10 year old girl that’s modeling with the caption “ not too bad”.

At this point he was completely unhinged. The photos of himself, u can see in his eyes- he is not there. He had been fully immersed in his illness— into this schizophrenic hell as if he surrendered completely to the hallucinations, delusions, and intrusive thoughts. Though he never turned to drugs, anyone would assume he was on crack with the way he would act, his mannerisms, his whole disposition.

The only updates i would get of him would be when i would periodically give his name a google search to find him getting arrested. Petty theft and trespassing. I try to file missing persons report but they didn’t do what they said and come to find out a year later it was never even filed. His arrest pictures are terrible with him looking a whole mess. One was of even of him crying.

So fast forward to November 2025 he was arrested for failure to appear at a court date. Not guilty due to insanity and then they sent him to a facility. Also tried to find him here too and again NOBODY DOES WHAT THEY SAY THEYRE GONNA DO. These facilities are trash. Mind u he is in Florida. Been in Florida for probably 8 years at this point, just an estimate.

At this point i am not hopefully of any type of recovery- prepared myself to probably never hear from my dad again. I come to the conclusion that he is far gone and isn’t even in reality. But, he is still surviving after all this time

A month ago, they release him only for him to be back in a tent. He is now in a tent beside a library where he sends a text saying “hey booki boo” his profile picture he even looks handsome, well fed, and some hope in his eyes. Farr from what I’ve seen in mugshots. My stomach drops to the absolute ground when i see this text as u may imagine !! I’m ecstatic.

When he texts me he is well spoken, the language and tone behind the texts are still the same from when i was in high school tho( last years of communication). A little bit of shame and a small updates of his activities. He is open to suggestions of me and sister helping him tho. This is day 3 of talking to him now and went sent him a very generous care package using DoorDash.

He has no ID as u may imagine. He says he is still struggling with his mental illness— he spends his time at the library trying to make sense of it. He expressed that he has trouble grasping complex issues and maintaining a life— he doesn’t know where to begin. So here is what gets me stuck and trying to find the next steps- “grasping complex issues” I’m guessing he is having trouble transitioning into organized society after being an outcast and active psychosis for yearsssss. His language and tone at times— the fact he is able to recite memories of our childhood and be so well spoken gives me assurance that he is still there and able. How does someone navigate thru this?? Has anybody been thru this? I need to hear a happy ending story of someone going thru something similar. My sister and i want to help him get on his feet, have a place, a job and life of his own where he can somewhat thrive. And, give a helping hand to maybe to turn the tragic ending that i had made peace with AROUND.