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Watching out for Todd Medford resident Todd Fitzgerald has been homeless for three decades due to problems related to paranoid schizophrenia. His family started the "24 Hour Todd Watch" Facebook page to maintain contact with him, and many in the community have added their compassion to the effort. [Courtesy photo] Wednesday Jan 31, 2018 at 12:01 AM Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune MEDFORD — A homeless man without the slightest use for a computer, much less social media, has garnered a following on a Facebook page started by his family to keep tabs on his whereabouts and make sure he’s safe. Medford resident Todd Fitzgerald has been homeless for three decades due to problems related to paranoid schizophrenia. A familiar face for many around town, Fitzgerald is known for his heavy coveralls, long black and gray beard and myriad carts of overflowing trash he feels compelled to collect. The Facebook page, “24 Hour Todd Watch,” contains a running series of posts and comments from his family members and dozens of community residents who share information about Fitzgerald's location, as well as tidbits about meals and cups of coffee they've bought for him, and news of conversations and encounters they've had with him. A post by a concerned family member Monday started with, "Anyone spotted Todd? I've heard he's moved his cart." "Saw him about 8:30 this morning in usual spot by Dutch Bros and Sleep Number store," came a reply from a local resident. "On wall in front of Macy's, across from Dutch ... 3 p.m.?" came another reply. Fitzgerald, who turns 55 in February, has become such a fixture on the sidewalk outside the Dutch Bros stand on North Riverside Avenue that local residents notice — and even worry — when he’s gone. Fitzgerald’s niece, Jen Champlain of Medford, helped set up the “Todd Watch” page out of concern for her uncle amid growing hostility toward homeless people in the region, but Champlain said the effort has shown that people were already watching out for him. While some passersby see a dirty, homeless man loitering on a sidewalk, Champlain remembers a kind uncle who cared for her as a child, but whose peculiar behavior perplexed family members. “Back in the old days, people didn’t automatically think, ‘My misbehaving child is probably hearing voices,’ ” Champlain said. “I remember when my little brother had just been born, I was 2 or 3, and Todd came to live with us. I remember he had a blue duffel bag, and we’d wake up every morning and he'd make me cinnamon toast ... and we’d play Memory and Potato Head.” Champlain suspects her uncle, who declined to be interviewed, has chosen to hang out at a highly visible spot near Trader Joe’s at Northgate Center for safety, noting “People in other groups ask why he has to be in the open and why can’t he go somewhere he’s not an eyesore, but I think he feels safe there.” The trash he collects, she explains, is due to Todd feeling that garbage “is creating pollution and contributing to disease, illness and brainwashing.” “He thinks if he can help contain it, then it will keep those energy waves and negativity confined to one spot and he’ll feel happier. He has a drive to pick it up, but then he sorts and organizes it, and he can’t let it go.” Since the Facebook page began around Christmas 2016, followers have notified family when he turned up barefoot after his shoes were stolen, reported his location and whether they’ve dropped off meals, and alerted his family when he was attacked during the holidays. “During Christmas some other homeless attacked him, knocked his teeth out and strewed all his trash everywhere. We found out because of the Facebook page, because people were looking out,” she said. “He was really upset, but then a lot of people who know about Todd showed up to help clean up. It was amazing.” Fitzgerald’s brother, Rick Fitzgerald, said the Facebook page reminds people that every homeless person has a story. “As soon as me and Jennifer did the ’24-hour Todd Watch,’ it started just blowing up. Now people see it and they understand what’s wrong with him and why he does the things he does. Before, a lot more people were picking on him and calling him names and wanting him arrested. When they started reading the page, some of their minds started to change,” said Rick. “He’s a good guy. He doesn’t do any drugs or alcohol or anything else. The voices in his head tell him to do the things he does. Yeah, he’s a paranoid schizophrenic, but there’s more to him than that. He’s a great guy who would give you the shirt off his back.” During the holidays, Todd spends time with family, and it's Champlain’s favorite time. “When he comes home for Christmas or Thanksgiving and can decompress, you can have fantastic political conversations. That’s when he’s like any normal dude who likes coffee and Hillshire sausages,” she said. “When he’s at home in sweats and slippers, he’ll walk around the house and talk to everyone, lay around, but when he puts on the coveralls and it’s time to go back, there is a distinct change. It’s like he's not just putting on different clothes, but a different persona.” Rick Fitzgerald said his long-term plans for his brother, which he hopes a gofundme campaign will help provide, include tending to medical needs such as broken teeth and a hernia, and providing a place for him to feel safe. “I know it’s going to be a long, tough road for Jen and me to get him off the street. So for now, we're just creating an awareness that not all homeless out there are bad people. Todd’s page has opened up a way for other people to talk about their homelessness, too. There are more people out there just like Todd,” he said. “We really would love to get him into a little house or trailer or talk him into staying with me. If we can get Todd some help and make him focus, he’ll let us help. You can see in his eyes that he wants help.” More than anything, Fitzgerald said, the man is loved and missed by his family. “It will sure be a great day when I can finally have my brother back.” To learn more, see the gofundme page at www.gofundme.com/3bzp5mg or go to Facebook and search for 24 Hour Todd Watch. — Reach Medford freelance writer Buffy Pollock at [email protected].