What is hoarding?

Hoarding is when someone has a lot of items. This can be things like; papers, old clothes, food or containers etc. These things can often get in the way of day-to-day functioning.

The National Health Service describe the problem as:

“A hoarding disorder is where someone acquires an excessive number of items and stores them in a chaotic manner. The items can be of little or no monetary value and usually result in unmanageable amounts of clutter.”

If you hoard, you might:

• Enjoy the feeling of getting more items
• Feel upset or anxious at the thought of throwing something away
• Find it hard to deciding what you may want to keep or get rid of

What are the dangers of hoarding?

Hoarding can impact how safe you are in your home. The items may stop you from getting out of your home if you need to in an emergency, for example, if there was a fire.

Having lots of items can also mean that fires may spread quickly, especially where there are newspapers or cardboard as these catch fire very easily. This is not just a danger to you but also to your neighbours and community.

What help is available?

There’s a lot of help and support for anyone who thinks they might be hoarding. It’s important you reach out to someone if you have any concerns.

Our Tenancy Sustainment team is available on 01206 282514.

You can also get help and support from the below agencies;

OCD UK: www.ocduk.org

TRIUMPH OVER OCD & PHOBIA: www.topuk.org

MIND: www.mind.org.uk

HOARDING DISORDERS UK: www.helpforhoarders.co.uk

OCD ACTION: www.ocdaction.org.uk