hoarding

Hoarding Explained

May 1, 2017 By Alan Cohen

Hoarding continues to sweep the US in record numbers. Hoarding affects up to 6% of the US population which is approximately 19 million people, twice the rate of OCD. Hoarding has been found to run in families and is quickly emerging as an issue that continues to grow as the population ages. Hoarding tendencies typically get worse as one ages and usually after the death of a loved one, a divorce, or another significant crisis or traumatic incident.

Hoarding is a mental health condition that is now diagnosable on its own, listed in the DSM, and no longer diagnosed as OCD. Awareness around hoarding is increasing but still remains an underdiagnosed and undertreated mental illness. To put it into greater perspective, Hoarding is six times more prevalent than Autism but is not as well known, researched, or funded.

Compulsive hoarding is associated in various studies with serious health risks such as household falls, obesity, respiratory problems (caused by dust mites, rodent feces, and squalor), and poor medication compliance not to mention the risk of falling over the debris. For a better understanding of hoarding and how a hoarder feels take a look at this video by Psychologist Dr. Greg Chasson of Towson University who outlines the symptoms of compulsive hoarding and how it can lead to debilitating stress. (Towson University)

Call Bio SoCal if you or a family member needs help and we can discuss your specific situation and schedule a FREE in-home estimate.

Hoarding Cleanup

October 9, 2016 By Alan Cohen

Hoarding clean up is a difficult task on many levels and each case is unique.

In most cases, there are biohazards lurking in unexpected places in the home and it is important that a licensed professional is called out for extreme hoarding cases.

Bio So Cal is the leading biohazard cleanup service in California, and we specialize in Hoarding Remediation with an objective to dispose of all unwanted property ad debris while recovering the family’s valuables of real and perceived value. Our service is discreet and professional, and we know that cleaning out a family home can be emotional.

Types of Hoarding

There are various types of hoarding that we encounter and all have one thing in common: It is difficult and unsafe to move around the home safely, and maintaining a safe clean environment becomes impossible. Below are some of the most common types of hoarding.

Collectable Hoarding: The collection of items that are of a particular significance, usually as part of a series. As the collection grows it becomes more and more valuable to the owner, with each item taking on more significance. We will recover the collectables and safeguard them during this process.

Animal Hoarding: Owning more animals in the house than be cared for in a safe and hygienic way.

Bibliomania: Bibliomania involves storing books or other media containing information.

Garbage Hoarding: The hoarding of items that would usually be immediately thrown away such as packaging, food containers, and the likes. Garbage hoarding is extremely dangerous and attracts rodent’s flies, and roaches and is a major contributor to the cause of many illnesses and disease.

Bio SoCal offers hoarding cleanup assistance to address the concerns of the individual suffering from the condition and or the family who have stepped in to help. We will remove items, sorting for values ad keepsakes and return the items once they have been decontaminated,. All disposable debris and contaminated furniture is discarded.

Call us today for a free estimate.

Helping The Homeless

January 11, 2016 By Alan Cohen

Helping The Homeless

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Bio SoCal helps people in great times of despair. When we clean out hoarded homes we find a significant amount of new clothing and with the permission of the client we collect and donate. Last night I decided to take all of the warm winter jackets and drive around town to look for some homeless people that might need them. I saw a homeless man and parked my truck, walked up to him and asked him if he could use a warm jacket. He said yes with a look ofsincere relief because he was cold. I gave him the jacket and he said thank you and I drove away. As I drove away I decided to go back and ask him if he needed anymore clothing. He said he needed a lot because another homeless guy who skipped town stole all of his things. He looked “safe” and relatively well kept so I said get your stuff and hop into my truck and let’s go to my warehouse and you can pick out some stuff. The guy was pretty surprised that someone was treating him not as a homeless person but rather as a person who needed help.

On the way to my warehouse I asked him where he was staying and he told me where he was “camping” behind a store close to our main office. I was curious so I asked him where he was from and to my shock he replied, “right here in, born and raised”. My heart sunk because I knew that we had to know some people in common based on his age and mine and sure enough it was the case. We arrived at my warehouse and he looked through the clothing and he picked out a bunch of stuff that he could use to help him get back on his feet (pants, shirts, sox, gloves, duffle bag, etc). When we were done he was so appreciative and I took him back to his “camping” place behind the store where he unloaded the bag we put together for him. I could not get over that here was a guy that grew up in the same town and fell upon circumstances that led him to be homeless.

It’s cold outside, especially at night. So I put a call out to everyone, go into your closet and take that old warm winter jacket you never wear and get in your car and find someone to give it to-they need it more than you do and you could use a little less clutter. I promise it will make you feel so wonderful to help someone with something so simple.

If you do it please come back to this post and share your experience in hopes that it will spread and together we can help those that need it.

The Devastation of Animal Hoarding

April 23, 2015 By Alan Cohen

Animal hoarding is a psychological disorder resulting in the pathological accumulation of animals, and it is particularly disturbing, compared to hoarding of inanimate objects, because innocent animals become suffering, long-term, and often fatal victims of neglect. Worse, animal hoarders rarely recognize the harm and cruelty being inflicted on the animals they have collected. Because it is defined as animal abuse, animal hoarding is also a crime.

Animal hoarding is defined by the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, with the following criteria:

Having more than the typical number of companion animals.
Failing to provide even minimal standards of nutrition, sanitation, shelter, and veterinary care, with this neglect often resulting in illness and death from starvation, spread of infectious disease, and untreated injury or medical condition.
Denial of the inability to provide this minimum care and the impact of that failure on the animals, the household, and human occupants of the dwelling.
Persistence, despite this failure, in accumulating and controlling animals.

The psychological disorder can affect anyone, with any economic, professional, or cultural background, and is now believed to be an accumulation of several varying types of mental, physical and environmental factors.

Animal hoarding is frequently noticeable by neighbors and community members. Here are some resources where you can report suspected cases of animal neglect, cruelty and hoarding:

Call Bio SoCal for help.

A Deadly Hoarding Case in San Francisco

April 9, 2015 By Alan Cohen

On April 5, 2015, it was reported that a mummified body of a 90-year old woman was found in a home, and it is believed she died 5 years ago. The San Francisco home was full of detritus, from top to bottom, including over 300 bottles of urine, animal remains and feces and a rat infestation. What’s worse is that the home was shared by the deceased’s 65 year old daughter, who was hospitalized once her mother and living situation were discovered. The police responding to the scene were reported as saying this is the worst case of hoarding they had ever seen.

SFO hoarding As we have mentioned in a previous blog post, hoarding is a psychological condition that can often be hereditary, and that seems to be the case in this situation. Here the home also presented a health hazard not only to the deceased and her daughter, but to their neighbors as well, because the home has attracted dangerous pests to the area.

Hoarding Explained

Hoarding Cleanup

Hoarding clean up is a difficult task on many levels and each case is unique.

Types of Hoarding

Call us today for a free estimate.

Helping The Homeless

Helping The Homeless

The Devastation of Animal Hoarding

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