From the White House to homeless in Bradenton. ‘It can happen to anyone’

Richard Breed was on top of the world in the 1990s.

Breed was a freelance photographer who climbed his career ladder taking pictures of various events during former President Bill Clinton’s tenure at the White House. He has pictures of himself with Clinton, another at a Thanksgiving turkey pardoning in the Rose Garden and another with himself posing arm-in-arm with actress Bo Derek at a White House gala.

And now?

Breed lives in a beat-up old car and spends most of his days playing his guitar at Riverwalk and around downtown Bradenton in hopes of making a few dollars a day in change.

Breed retired in the late ‘90s and opened a guitar factory in Vietnam, but the business went south. He returned to America where things continued to get worse for him.

“It was a series of things, an avalanche of sorts,” Breed said. “I had sunk my retirement money into the Vietnam business, but came back because I was getting low on money. A friend gave me an opportunity in real estate and the market crashed eight days later. All of a sudden, I had no money in the bank, so one night I was just homeless.”

Breed clawed his way back from that experience and was able to start a new business with a friend But a short time later, he was involved a severe car crash.

He had medical insurance from a company in the United Kingdom he had purchased while in Vietnam, but it was useless in America. Three years of treatment and rehabilitation later, Breed somewhat recovered, “but I was broke again.”

He’s been essentially homeless ever since. And the stigma of being homeless, especially an older homeless man, has been almost impossible to overcome. Surviving the sometimes hostile streets has not been an easy path.

“I think the homeless situation has gotten worse since I’ve been here,” Breed said. “It’s horrible at times between the un-trusting nature people have for the homeless and the judgment. It’s so hard to get on your feet again and $1 means so much. Don’t think all homeless are bad people, you know. It can happen to anyone.”

It’s a message Laura Licoski has tried hard to spread since she began working with the homeless in Bradenton years ago and why she founded Facing Homelessness Bradenton to share the stories of people like Breed.

“I think Richard’s story is important to me and to everyone to just see there is such a stereotype on what a homeless person is, in what they look like or what they have done for a living,” Licoski said. “I think the general public thinks everyone that is homeless has no college degree, not even a high school diploma and that’s just not true.”

Breed is an educated man and spent two decades reaching the top of his field. His best friend, who also is homeless, was once a high-profile chef in New Orleans. If you take a moment to notice them, Licoski said, there are many similar stories of those who call the streets of Bradenton home.

Licoski said the homeless population is no different than any other population — a handful of bad apples among mostly good people.

“Richard’s story is just so full of so many different layers that it’s amazing he’s gone through so much and he’s where he is right now,” Licoski said. “It’s important to me for someone to see where he was and where he can be in the future.”

Breed hopes to find his way into a local band to help make a little more money than just playing solo at Riverwalk for a few quarters here and there. He’s not looking for a handout, but at the same time, he’s not looking to be judged.

“It’s so much simpler to be kind and generous,” he said. “Obviously the 10 Commandments aren’t the 10 requests and even if you have $200 in the bank, you can give $1 to people like Laura who will help direct those efforts because when you have nothing, you can’t get anything done. You get into a certain head space when you wake up with a shower, a toilet and coffee on the stove. It gives you power, but without all that, you just get tired. It’s hard.”

Breed said people tend to like him when they meet him, but then they find out he’s homeless and opinions seem to change.

“There’s this stigma that you get on you when you’re broke,” he said.

It certainly isn’t a karma problem for Breed. He grew up in a loving family, and as a Christian was taught to never judge and be kind whenever possible.

“I was lucky having my parents,” he said. “I was taught to have an obligation to God and not to judge anyone.”

Breed suffers from a severe form of Attention Deficit Disorder, but hasn’t been able to get his medicine in years. He gets distracted and it’s difficult to focus on a single task. It’s another reason he struggles to find steady work.

And yet, he considers himself lucky to at least have his car in which to sleep.

“Those guys that have to sleep on the actual street is horrifying given the level of theft that goes on out here,” he said.

“I’ve had stuff stolen from me at least nine times. The hardest part of my story is I always get close to making it again and then it all comes crashing down again. I’m getting there, but it’s hard.”