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LOHSC regional meeting |
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| Registration Form (PDF) “Hoarding: What Municipalities Have Learned from Teaming” In 1947, the reclusive Collyer brothers, Homer and Langley, were found dead in their Manhattan brownstone among 130 tons of newspapers and books, rusting bicycles, broken baby carriages and other debris. It took seven men to gain access to the home because stacks of junk blocked windows and doors. It was the nation’s first notorious case of hoarding. Compulsive hoarding is now more familiar. It is characterized, according to psychologists and authors Tamara Hartl and Randy Frost, by “the acquisition of, and unwillingness or inability to discard, large quantities of seemingly useless objects that create a significantly cluttered living space and cause considerable distress or impairment in functioning.” Extreme clutter and debris may limit an individual’s ability to maintain proper hygiene and participate in the activities of daily living. Health, safety and fire risks develop due to unsanitary conditions, cluttered hallways and blocked egresses. Working with a compulsive hoarder is both labor- and time-intensive. Hoarding intervention is most successful when there is collaboration among municipal departments and private agencies. The board of health, building department, police and fire departments, social workers, visiting nurses, human services and council on aging, adult protective services, and cleanout companies all play a role in addressing the issue. Hoarding task forces are convening in many communities across the country to facilitate these collaborations and provide education, training and support to the community at large and to those working directly with compulsive hoarders. This is a follow-up training on hoarding. Jesse Edsell-Vetter, case management specialist for the Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership and a respected expert in the field of hoarding, will be presenting again, along with municipal hoarding teams from Arlington and Marlborough. Edsell-Vetter is a resource to Boston-area legislators, human service agencies and organizations, educational institutions, and social service providers. He also provides training, technical assistance and advocacy at the local and state levels. Edsell-Vetter serves on the Massachusetts Steering Committee on Compulsive Hoarding and is the lead convener for the Third Sector New England grant-funded Boston Regional Hoarding Response Network. He studied public health at the University of North Carolina Greensboro and the University of Massachusetts Boston. Registration is $25 for LOHSC members, $30 for LOHSC member communities, and $35 for nonmembers. The fee includes materials, continental breakfast, and lunch. Directions
119 Bearfoot Road, Northborough View Larger Map |
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Contact : MMA Senior Member Services Coordinator Denise Baker |
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| Local Officials Human Services Council | ||||
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