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' WA THILOU CHRONICLE . Wednesday. August 24. 20M - 3 "IS" ‘ I I S f I \ I I ; W8 kitchenerkia.cnm @ 519-571-2828 H81 in 110 arders p . g . Local services say more support, fimdmg needed to help hoarders ~ BY PAIGE DrthmIi - ' overwhelmedto get help. chronicle Staff . 1 The problem of where to turn , s. ‘ complicates things for people who When Debby Fox dealt with ~ need help and community servic- lier father's ailing health. she l I , es. would have loved the help of an Linda Flemming at the Comâ€" expert to clean out his home and . ' munity Care Access Centre is prepare it for sale. .. ‘ ‘~ g spearheading a project to educate lt inspired her to move to (kim- I ‘ :7 .. 3 . ' frontiine workers and community bridge from Toronto iii 2008 and . M ‘ ’ services about hoarding. Public start her own business offering fl _ â€": ’ health and other services are that service. ' 1’ ’ V 7 involved. But what started as a service to 5- ", " "You can't just go in and say‘l'm help aging people tie-clutter their A ' cleaning up the place.” Flemming homes and prepare them for sale ~ j k .1 said.“'lrust is ahuge issue." became a crash course in dealing ,. ' i The working group has had a with boarders. '-' E ;. l few meetings and plans to get a “I imagined that I'd be helping . y ‘ E S g system in place where one individ- widows with little antiques and "g ' g , f, g ual or department can be the pri» ‘ dailies," Fox said. "All ofa sudden l 1 g f - mary contact for people having got a call from a woman about ' 3 ' . problems. i hoarding." j l . ‘ Fox dedicates weeks at a time to l The woman was in her ‘40s and . a f t- . ' ‘ help boarders get out from under : | was about to be evicted if she did- / i 5 ' g the stuff. but her services are too ‘ ‘ n‘t deal with the massive collection 1 . expensive for most people on a of material in her home. I ‘ ' _, limited income to afford, she said. “‘ . . . ' “ ' ' _ | in ts'ltll’zeet‘ili'rfuTthlalhct:(shill it: LEW A before picture of a kitchen belonging to one of Debby Fox's past hoarding clients. er I e: 3:): ll.nv:’?r::i;v::rhs:v:::;:s _ . . .. - . Right. The after results. .. . can ever imagine, l‘ox said. wwwwm aweek foramonth, Fox said. “They're people who have sort of She said there is not enough fallen through the cracks." of cases we have has gone up." Public Health said there are no support from community services . She has dealt with every kind of llepditch said. “We're currently ‘1“7'hey're people concrete numbers about the mag and personal support workers to situation imaginable but there are working on several cases. niiude ofhoarding here. help. a few common threads. The fire department usually thO have 50" 0f "The experience has been. at Fox consults with a psychiatrist '()n every single one. of them, Encounters issues of what they call fallen through the public health. that another govem~ in Toronto whenever she takes on they ve collected something infanr high combustible loads. a major ,, merit agency usually stumbles a hoarding case. tile. whether it be stuffed animals. fire hazard for the occu- cracks. upon it." Yung said. “It's taboo. “There isn’t enough help. not angels or unicorns." Fox said pant/residents of a dwelling and -Debhy Fox nobody wants to report these even one bit.” she said. " I'hey collect something that sug neighbours. (ammo/Maid" F :1 things." Fox would like to see a support 3 _ . _ ‘ g orwar _ g _ gests to me a stage in their emor llie cases are usually com- The problem for public health group, factlitated by a mental . tional development that was trait plaint-hased. often coming front is they do not have the mandate to health professional. matizetl." family members of the homeown~ SIOCkPilt’d ”Dilling- paper 9‘0 "I“ enter private residences unless “I am a firm believer in the Mental health issues such as er. a"? several WHEN-S. ”fpditCh said they have permission or the prob power of one person who struggles i depression. grief. dementia or a Once a complaint is received, ”Some or the hazards ”181 YOU lem affects the public sphere, like helping another person with that traumatic life event almost always the fire department will inspect the have "Wide ”’19 home an’ promo» when an odour from an apanment same issue who struggles." she accompany the hoarding problem, premises and if it meets the crite- ”0" or rapid ““0!“ and affects other residents. said. "It would bring them out of lox said ria to be a high combustible load, flame...promotion 0‘ “NC 8359*5 “Sometimes its feces. mice. their isolation and put them with lot is part of a growmg number inspection orders to clean it up will llepditch said. "And there's 9'9““- newspapers. animals.“ Yung said. people who won't judge them." i of smut t- providers iii Waterloo be issued under the lite l’reven- Pd ha7ards [0' persons doing “It" “Either the odour or the critters or Fox hopes the public will get Region who has seen an increase tion and Protection Act. with a fightingoperations." something escapes the apanment. beyond the awe ofvoyeurism. in hoarding deadline for the work to he done ”1‘ “WM "0‘ recall any “()ur duty is to protect the pub» "\Vhat I would love is if people ‘ Matt llt'ptlllt‘h. fire prevention Immediate hazards sot h as lmlimfl‘fi "f injury “PW- bl" “1““ ll( in that building We have a duty had as much interest in the post 1 l officer with the Lily of Waterloo nonworking lire alarms or extenr firefighters in other cities “3"“ to investigate." cleanup process as they do in the fire department. said firefighters sioii tortls are dealt with ln1nit‘tll' bPl‘" hunt: "P ”n lhlnfi‘ 0' had Fox and Yong said often hoartl- voyeurism." she said. "They're real I em owner the problem often kllt‘l) piles 0f “Hill?!“ on them. ers know there is an issue but they people in there and they're l " l he past five years the amount lligli toinbtistihle loads. like 5'3" Yung 3‘ Region ofWaterloo are too shameful. isolated and trapped." , l ! l . a . . A A “a,“ Location Grand Opening 1 ; ~ . w t ; \- â€". w ,. A A t' c I M; ‘. ’ fl .. "my i -â€": . ‘ glv I 4 I V k ' . :1 u ' -4 v V V w a ' I l J: .i.|’i_|‘. l.ll("|("\("l‘ I ‘ EERS \ "’ HDl-Zt‘t)RATth‘. ‘ , . â€"s. Drums (frs‘ritrsâ€" l f, ._ ’ 4‘ ' “I“, . . .' ‘ ‘i‘ I 583 King St. N.. Waterloo ' l r ( ,, ' ‘ . y \\ / VI - (519) 772-1127 1 " " ‘ »‘ " ‘\\\ //// , Kitchener 1 â€" .. I , . p .1“. H, , , ‘ . ' ‘ ’ 67739tmomAve W.l5|9)578»5&1) , y ’ . .. l i . it l120VIctataSlN.l519l576»7578 330 GageAva um a. tstgi 576 8200 .- swen_ .â€"