A Mother’s Long Struggle to Help Her Homeless Son

This is part one of a two-part series. Gina Pérez’s 43-year-old son Joseph Zamora has lived on the streets of San Fernando/Sylmar for nearly half his life, suffering from schizophrenia whose diagnosis came too late for effective treatment after years of self-medicating. Seeing her son caught in a revolving door of homelessness, incarceration and hospitalizations over two decades, a cycle that is typical for the mentally ill homeless population, Pérez knows she is his only lifeline.   After work, she looks for her son every day and brings him clean clothes, blankets and food. Joseph’s mental illness is debilitating and…