UKHP open letter covered by BBC News
Timed with Hoarding Awareness Week, the letter warns that without a coordinated national strategy people are falling through the cracks of housing, health and social care.
BBC News has reported on the open letter, led by the UK Hoarding Partnership, calling on government to fund proper support for people living with hoarding disorder.
Signed by charities, housing groups and academics, the letter warns of a critical situation across the UK in the absence of a coordinated national mental health strategy. It has been timed to coincide with Hoarding Awareness Week.
The article features Professor Nick Neave, chair of the Partnership, who said, “hoarding is often misunderstood, or dismissed as clutter, laziness or a lifestyle choice, when in fact it is a complex mental health condition. People who hoard often struggle to find adequate support, and are frequently overlooked by social care, health services, housing authorities and mental health professionals.”
The piece also features Heather Matuozzo, founder of the Birmingham social enterprise Clouds End, who told the BBC her service has seen a large rise in people seeking help with severe hoarding, and described the situation as a mental health emergency.