Overview, ceus
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hoarders, clutterers, pack rats, and collectors are some of the common words used to identify and describe people with a lot of stuff in their apartment, house, office, storage unit, car and/or yard. The accumulation of objects can become a serious safety and health problem, interfere with one’s activities of daily living and/or violate housing codes that may lead to eviction or condemnation. When animals are hoarded, the violations and potential penalties become even greater. Additional authorities may become involved to address the criminal conditions affecting the dependent animals, as well as dependent humans in the household.
Who should use this site
This web page can be helpful for people who
•love or care about some one who hoards,
•struggles with it themselves or
•are working in a professional capacity with a hoarder.
Organizations working with people who hoard may include:
•public health departments,
•housing providers,
•courts,
•mental health professionals,
•social service providers of all kinds,
•elder services,
•visiting nurses and home care organizations,
•legal services and housing lawyers,
•clean-up companies,
•adult, child or animal protective services and
•fire, police and emergency medical technicians.
This site has general information as well as links to related professional, service, government, academic and self-help sites.
What is Hoarding?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
People who hoard have difficulty discarding items, have problems with too much clutter, and/or have a problem with acquiring too much. Their living spaces are often so cluttered that they can no longer use rooms, furniture, appliances and/or other objects for what they were originally intended. In some cases, animals may be the victims of hoarding behavior, compromising their welfare as well as the safety and well being of the person and other humans in the household.
Research has shown that object hoarding behavior typically begins at around age 13, although animal hoarding behavior usually begins in adulthood. On average, people seek behavioral health intervention at age 50.
A small number of people come forward for treatment on their own or at the request of family member or friend. However, most cases of hoarding, especially those that become a concern to the community, are brought to the attention of the public health department through a sanitation or code violation.
Approximately 5% or nearly 15 million Americans are sufferers of this complicated mental health problem. There is still a lot to be learned about the association of age when hoarding begins, genetics and brain biology as they relate to hoarding
