Los Angeles veteran’s rubbish piles renew calls for mental health support

Raymond Gaon, a 72-year-old Vietnam veteran, has faced years of complaints over piles of rubbish at his home in Los Angeles’s upscale Fairfax District. Friends and court records describe him as struggling with mental health and hoarding disorder, prompting calls for support alongside efforts to address the impact on neighbours.

City officials have cited Gaon more than a dozen times in the past decade, and neighbours say repeated clean-ups have only provided temporary relief. His friend Tonya Lee Jaynes says he collects bottles and cans for money and helped him load bags into a U-Haul for recycling; a psychiatrist’s assessment said he was not a threat and could benefit from a mental health programme. The article says the property, a Spanish bungalow, is surrounded by homes worth millions of dollars.