Hoarding Called A Public Health Issue; El Paso Hoarding Spotlighted

Hoarders – people who amass excessive numbers of possessions and don’t discard them- has become so frequent that a growing number of cities has formed task forces to bring housing, elderly services and health departments together to address the cases, according to a CNN report.

In February, a woman died inside her El Paso, Texas, home in a fire. Newspapers strewn throughout her house fueled the flames, and firefighters weren’t able to reach her because of the clutter, said Felix Cabrera, a resources and external relations specialist at the Adult Protective Services in El Paso.

Months later, the local authorities formed a multi-agency hoarding task force. Cabrera called it a constant problem, with about eight open cases in El Paso alone. It affects the community by spreading pests and possible health dangers, Cabrera said.

One recent clean-up cost $15,000 and required five dump trucks, Cabrera said. It becomes cyclical, because many hoarders refuse to get mental treatment.

Hoarding is included as part of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder in the current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. This has been problematic because the many cases do not meet criteria for either disorder, according to experts

Read the full CNN article here.