By CRISTELA GUERRA
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 04, 2007

LANTANA - - To locals, he was known as "The Walking Man."

Today, he walks in a new direction.

Brett Besade, 38, lives in an old tri-pod apartment in Lantana with two roommates, a couple of old couches, two armchairs and a donated flat-screen TV.

Besade's tanned face crinkles into a smile when reminded of his old nickname.

It's obviously been a while since anyone called him that.

Sitting at his coffee table with four decks of cards in front of him, the difference is tangible: He knows what he wants.

"I really want a job," he repeats, raising black bushy eyebrows to emphasize his point.

His desire has nothing to do with money - it's about being independent. Besade lived on the streets for almost 11 years, hearing voices while suffering with schizophrenia.

He would walk Dixie Highway between West Palm Beach and Lake Worth. At night he often slept on the Flagler Drive sea wall.

The change came in 2005.

A judge required Besade to participate in a state-funded program called Florida Assertive Community Treatment, or serve time in jail.

The nonprofit FACT, which considers itself a "hospital without walls," regularly serves 90 to 100 patients with "serious and persistent mental illness" such as Besade.

"It was really good for him, because it kept him grounded," said Bryan Besade, his older brother. "It isn't a hospital or a jail and I think it helped him feel human for the first time in years."

The biggest thing the program did for Besade was support him, said Ellen Cohen, program manager for Lake Worth.

"We provide that extra family for him, by making sure he takes his medication and providing everything he needs," she said.

The team also provides monthly psychiatric counseling, weekly substance abuse therapy and a vocational group.

There's only one FACT program in Palm Beach County to help the homeless, and Cohen says she wishes she could admit more clients. "There are thousands of Bretts walking the streets, that we need to be helping," Cohen said. "There are just not enough FACT teams."

A January survey by the county's human services department found homelessness has risen 12 percent in one year.

Claudia Tuck, director of human services, isn't certain if that increase is due to more people being counted or more living on the streets.

"According to a study from the Florida Commission on Mental Health and Substance Abuse, 17 to 20 percent of homeless people have some sort of mental issue," Tuck said.

Many also use substances to cope with their symptoms, she said.

Human services is forming a homeless advisory board that will include people from the county, city, law enforcement, health department, United Way and other agencies to figure out what comes next, she said.

Besade still suffers from schizophrenia, but while on his medication his "head is clearer."

Now, he can focus on his future.

"I don't even care if they pay me, I want to get a job."

 

updated 07/18/07