Condo Media - April 2021 - 21

Einhorn says he is usually summoned
when initial efforts from the association
break down, are ignored, or are otherwise
unsuccessful. Although a hoarding
situation alone is generally not an
emergency, when it leads to something like
a bed bug infestation with the potential
to spread, just as would be the case with
hazardous conditions that could cause
life-threatening harm, it merits more
immediate attention, including legal
action, he says. " It is often hard to sort
through who is responsible for what
and how to hold people accountable,
but gaining access to the unit and
managing the cleanup when the owner
is uncooperative would typically prompt
the attorney to file for a court order. "
Einhorn says what the court is willing
to do depends on the severity of the
situation. " Not all hoarding situations
pose an immediate threat, or even
nuisance, but some do; the more potential
there is for harm, the broader remedies
you may seek. " He mentions a case where
the court allowed the owner in a unit
where there had been numerous fires to
remain, but stipulated the removal of her
cooking appliances and routine checkups.
TAKING A HARM
REDUCTION APPROACH
Marnie Matthews, a licensed clinical
social worker who specializes in the
treatment of hoarding disorder and
hoarding behavior in her Nashville,
Tennessee, psychotherapy practice, agrees
that punitive approaches to hoarding are
counterproductive. Matthews knows of
what she speaks. A recognized authority on
hoarding, she was the clinical and program
director for the North Shore Center for
Hoarding and Cluttering in Danvers,
Massachusetts, and is the founder of
Center for Hoarding and Cluttering, an
online resource for all aspects of hoarding.
Although the distinction between
hoarding behavior and hoarding disorder
may seem irrelevant when attempting
to resolve a problem stemming from the
mess, Matthews explains the differences
between them and how they impact
treatment, legal options, and resolving
the problem at hand.

" A lot of the time, when people
think about hoarding, they assume
all situations of excessive clutter are
hoarding disorder, but they are not. "
She says those with simple hoarding
behavior may be over-collectors or
clutterers, who can usually be flexible
about making those needed decisions
about their belongings and taking action.
In contrast, with those diagnosed with
hoarding disorder - a disability covered by
the Americans with Disabilities Act - the
behavior is better explained by a temporary or chronic mental health condition
whereby there is mental, emotional, and
physical stress that makes it paralyzing
for them to let things go. " They are overwhelmed by anxiety, the fear of making
bad decisions, a fear of what will happen
if they let things go, " she says. (see sidebar:
Understanding the Offender) However,
she adds, whether it's an issue of property
management or code enforcement, it cannot be ignored.
Like Einhorn and Collins, Matthew says
the most important reason to take action
is not that it's unsightly or unsavory, but
that it's unsafe. This, she says, is also the
key to resolving the issue at hand as well
as treatment for the offending party.
She says the harm reduction approach
she recommends focuses not on judging
the behavior but moving toward getting
help to resolve the issue in the interest
of safety. " Instead of saying, 'If you don't
get rid of this stuff, you'll lose your home,'
I ask, 'What can I do to help you so I can
open this door all the way?' Make it clear
that this not about getting rid of stuff but
managing the safety issue in the home. "
To support the harm reduction approach
she advocates, Matthew developed
The Uniform Inspection Checklist (UIC),
a tool now used in the United Kingdom,
Australia, and Canada, as well in the United
States. " This is a way to walk people through
the harm reduction approach to meet
minimum safety and sanitation standards
in a way that's effective and sustainable.
It covers every single type of agency
and inspection source we could come
across, including the housing authority,
property management, code enforcement,
public health, and fire standards. "

BEYOND
TOILET
PAPER

The Impact of the
Pandemic on
Hoarding Disorder
JOKES ABOUT
WIDESPREAD HOARDING
of toilet paper and hand
sanitizer in the early
days of COVID-19 aside,
psychotherapist Marnie
Matthews describes how
the hoarding problem has
been playing out as a result
of social distancing. " On
the one hand, it has helped
somewhat with the issue of
acquiring, because people
aren't going out shopping
as much - although that
may be balanced by online
shopping and delivery. But
overall, the pandemic and
social distancing have made
the hoarding problem worse.
There's the isolation and
depression it exacerbates,
and, remember, hoarding
behavior is a coping
mechanism. " What it has
also done, she says, was limit
the type of oversight during
which the situation is often
unmasked. This, she says, has
led to unpleasant surprises.
" When things started opening
up, I was inundated with calls
from people like association
managers because they
hadn't been doing things
like property inspections,
so things got out of control. "
April 2021 CONDOMEDIA

21
Condo Media - April 2021

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