Feature
by Belinda Lyons
Many of us know someone who has difficulty throwing things away. However, hoarding and cluttering become problems for both landlords and tenants when they begin to interfere with everyday life. When tenants are unable to throw anything out, apartments are soon filled beyond capacity. Hoarding can become a health, fire and safety hazard when tenants can no longer access fire exits and bathrooms, as well as cooking, eating and sleeping areas.
Compulsive hoarding is defined as the acquisition of and failure to discard a large number of possessions that appear to be useless or of limited value in an attempt to decrease stress and anxiety. Many people do not know that compulsive hoarding and cluttering are features of several mental illnesses, in particular obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Compulsive hoarding can be an extremely difficult, and potentially disabling, problem to overcome.
An estimated seven to eight million people in the United States suffer from OCD, and as many as one-third of people with OCD exhibit compulsive hoarding behaviors. Compulsive hoarding is often a feature of several other mental illnesses in addition to OCD, including attention-deficit disorder, major depression and head trauma. The problem can be caused or aggravated by increasing age or physical disabilities. Sometimes major life changes, such as divorce, the death of a loved one, unemployment, severe illness or the birth of a new child can affect one’s ability to discard household items.
Hazardous Hoarding
Hoarding and cluttering can create many hazards. Excessive clutter
can lead to inadequate cleaning, while rotting food items can attract
bugs and rodents, leading to health hazards. Reduced cleaning can
also worsen existing allergies and breathing problems. In the event
of a fire, clutter can block doorways and windows, which makes
leaving a home very difficult. Boxes, paper, clothing and other
items are extremely flammable and will add fuel to a fire. All
of these potential dangers can create other problems: falling and
breaking bones; social isolation; problems with neighbors, family
and friends; and even possible eviction and homelessness for some
tenants.
If a tenant’s clutter problem is caused or made worse by a disability, the tenant has certain legal rights. California law and federal law, through the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fair Housing Amendments Act, define a disability as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more life activities, such as walking, seeing, hearing, caring for oneself, learning or working. These laws also consider a person disabled if there is either a history of, or if the person is regarded as having, such an impairment.
Following are several examples of how a disability might cause a clutter problem or make it worse. Bill suffers from chronic depression, which makes him unable to decide what to keep and what to throw away. Books and papers pile up in his apartment. Sandra’s OCD drives her to hoard appliances and clothes from garage sales in her already full apartment. Michiko has possessions in boxes piled to the ceiling of her apartment. After her stroke, she is physically unable to reach the boxes and sort through their contents. Diana’s brain injury from a car accident makes it hard for her to remember where things are in her apartment. Because of this, she keeps buying the same supplies again and again.
If a disability is causing or making a tenant’s clutter problem worse, that tenant has a right to ask the landlord for a “reasonable accommodation”: to adapt the rules, policies or practices so that the tenant is given an equal opportunity to use and enjoy the unit. That does not mean the tenant does not need to clean the unit. Usually, in a hoarding/cluttering situation, tenants’ requests will be for more time to get help discarding the clutter, which is a reasonable accommodation. If tenants request reasonable accommodations due to a disability, landlords have the right to ask for a doctor’s letter verifying the disability.
Where to Get Help
The Mental Health Association of San Francisco, a nonprofit organization
dedicated to improving mental health in San Francisco, provides
regular support groups for compulsive hoarders and clutterers.
Support groups meet twice a month at the MHA-SF offices in downtown
San Francisco and focus on helping tenants make specific plans
and strategies to de-clutter. Developing an agreement with hoarding
tenants that they will attend the MHA-SF support groups can be
part of a reasonable-accommodation agreement between the landlord
and the tenant, where the tenant gets additional time to de-clutter
but also commits to attend the support group.
In addition to the support groups, the MHA-SF also holds an annual educational conference on hoarding and cluttering. At the 2005 conference, national experts spoke on important innovations in the research and treatment of compulsive hoarding and explained how landlords, public health officials, tenants, mental health providers and community members can work together to address problems caused by compulsive hoarding. If you missed this year’s conference, you may order a video or DVD from the MHA-SF web site.
Resources & Support Groups
Mental Health Association of San Francisco
(415) 421-2926
870 Market Street, Suite 928
The MHA-SF sponsors a hoarding and cluttering support group and
provides information and referrals on mental health, including
information on cluttering issues, as well as referrals to independent
clutter organizers. The hoarding and cluttering support group meets
the second Monday and fourth Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m.
Bay Area Helplink
(800) 273-6222 or (415) 808-HELP
Helplink provides referrals to community counseling agencies and
self-help groups throughout the Bay Area.
Community Thrift Store
(415) 861-4910
623 Valencia Street
This organization accepts a variety of donations in saleable condition
and will pick up large quantities, including furniture. You can
donate to benefit a nonprofit of your choice in the Bay Area, including
the MHA-SF (Donor #206).
In-Home Support Services
(415) 557-5251
IHSS provides government funding for those with low incomes who
are either elderly or disabled to hire a worker referred by the
IHSS Public Authority or chosen by the tenant. The service is free
to those with the lowest income; otherwise there is a “share of
cost.”
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of SFAA or the San Francisco Apartment Magazine. Belinda Lyons is the executive director of the Mental Health Association of San Francisco. Copyright © 2006 by the San Francisco Apartment Magazine. All rights reserved.