Syracuse, N.Y. -- Jeremy Dufresne sleeps outside most nights and eats most of his meals at the Samaritan Center on North Salina Street.

In between, he sometimes stops into the Dunkin' on North Salina Street. He gets warm and charges his phone.

That's what he was doing Sunday night: charging his phone so he could call his mom to tell her good night, as he does every evening. He put his head down for a minute, he said.

Then a worker dumped water on his head.

"He probably had some personal problems of his own and needed someone to talk to," Dufresne said of the worker. "And he took it out on someone else, like me."

The worker laughed at him while someone else took video of it. The video was posted to Facebook almost instantly. But the intent to mock the homeless man has turned back on the people who started it.

Homeless advocates have called to boycott the Dunkin' store and people are calling for the worker's firing on social media. Neither Dunkin' nor the franchise owner, The Wolak Group, have responded to requests for comment.

Al-amin Muhammad, who runs the homeless outreach "We Rise Above the Streets," went to Dunkin' this morning to confront the manager. He also led a protest of about 20 people around lunchtime.

Shortly after, the drive-through line was backed up as people ordered their coffee. Two people sitting inside said they were from the Wolak Group, but deferred questions to Dunkin' corporate. Neither have responded to questions about whether the worker is still employed.

Dufresne said he was surprised when the worker dumped water on him.

"I grabbed my stuff and left," he said.

He said other workers there have been nice to him, giving him food or drinks. They've asked him not to bother anyone and he said he doesn't.

When the video was taken, there appeared to be no one else in the restaurant. It was about 8:30 p.m. Dufresne said he wasn't sleeping. He just put his head down to wait for the phone to charge.

Dufresne lives outside because he prefers it, he said. His aunt, Betty Jo Craven, and his mom, Bobbie Jo Richardson, both said they tried to help him.

This afternoon, he was at his aunt's home in Syracuse.

Dufresne suffers from schizophrenia, he and his family said. His struggle with mental illness is not uncommon for someone who is homeless. National data shows that roughly a third of people who are homeless are suffering from some sort of mental illness.

Dufrense said he's not interested in living inside. He likes to be alone.

"The only time I talk to people is when I talk to my family," he said.

His mother said oxygen was cut off to Dufresne's brain when he was born, leaving him with mental and physical struggles. He has epilepsy and a learning disability on top of the schizophrenia, she said.

When Dufresne was 2, his father was in a motorcycle accident that left the man in a coma for 12 years. Dufrense was 14 when his father died at Rosewood Nursing home, his aunt said.

He wanted to be an artist when he grew up.

"I like concept art, scenery," he said. He preferred pencil to ink or paint.

But he gave up on that dream.

Dufresne dropped out of high school and has struggled to stay off the streets since then, he said.

He was bullied and picked on in school, his aunt said.

His mother said she has tried to get him to come inside. She took a job out of town about a year ago. When she heard that her son was sleeping on the steps of a church, she begged him to come stay with her.

He did for a few weeks, but wanted to go back to Syracuse and the streets, she said.

Dufresne said he simply prefers to be outside.

"I look forward to the afternoon, when it's warm," he said.

He plans to sleep outside again, tonight.

Do you know the workers who poured water on Dufresne? I'd like to hear their side of the story. Call or text me at 315-470-2246. email | twitter | Facebook

Marnie Eisenstadt is an enterprise reporter who writes about people, life and culture in Central New York. Have an idea or question? Contact her anytime: email | twitter | Facebook | 315-470-2246