Help for hoarders
West Lothian Council is working with emergency and health services to look at the best ways to help hoarders.
The Community Safety Board heard that hoarding – where people amass unmanageable amounts of possessions or rubbish –has long been identified as an issue by housing officers.
Lorraine Donnelly, one of the council’s area housing managers delivered a presentation to the board with Fire Service officer Elaine Dowie.
Mrs Donnelly, one of multi-agency partners working on a plan to tackle hoarding said: “Hoarding is now being recognised as a distinct mental health condition of its own.
“It can have a huge impact on a person’s ability to function independently and can carry a high level of risk for themselves and others.
“Hoarding can also be associated with health issues, lack of hygiene and impaired ability and this can result in fire risk damage to property and can also have a serious negative impact on the individual, their family, friends and neighbours.
“Hoarders often have a low insight into their condition and do not see their behaviour as problematic. As a result hoarders may not cooperate with efforts to amend their behaviour or clear out possessions.”
Ms Dowie told the meeting that in neighbouring Falkirk Council a part-time support worker had been employed to work across the different agencies, including the Fire Service and council, on hoarding issues.
She said: “The extent of the numbers of people living in such conditions is not fully known.
“It is often only at the point of a crisis or emergency that people become known to us.”
Training in addressing issues associated with hoarding started in 2019 but was put on hold during the pandemic. It has now been restored to form part of the community safety plan which will operate until 2025.
A West Lothian Council spokesperson said: “Hoarding is now recognised as a mental health condition which affects people’s day to day functioning.
“The extent of the numbers of people who are living in such condition in West Lothian is not fully known, as often it is only at the point of a crisis or emergency that people become known to us.
“Council services such as Housing and Social Policy work with partners, such as the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, to support those affected, to improve their safety and reduce risks.
“Additional actions and activities to strengthen existing arrangements were agreed by partners as part of the 2022-2025 Community Safety Plan, and we now plan to develop a tailored West Lothian approach on how the partnership will work together to support those affected by the condition.”