Interviewed by: Katie Cadigan

Gerald began experiencing symptoms while in high school in the Philippines.  When he began to have significant trouble sleeping, he went to several hospitals, eventually seeing a psychiatrist and receiving medication for his bipolar and schizoaffective disorders.  After moving to Los Angeles, he learned about the L.A. County Asian-Pacific Clinic, where he now receives medication and counseling.  Gerald volunteers with the peer-run Project Return call-in support line, the Warm Line.  He enjoys working in a place where people understand his experience and where he can make a difference.  Says Gerald, “being at work, everybody is in the same boat as I am, helps big time. I feel like I’m able to contribute to the society somehow and…able to and accepted for how I am, too, at the same time.”