Waist-high clothing piles and other hoarding issues: Selectmen study issue as vote on anti-blight approaches

By Brian Messenger
Staff writer

Less than a month before Town Meeting will vote on a bylaw proposal calling for the enforcement of property up-keep standards, selectmen plan to learn more about compulsive hoarding from Andover's health director.

The proponents of last year's unsuccessful Property Maintenance Code, Kirkland Drive residents fed up with a neighbor's messy yard, have filed a private warrant article they are calling an "Anti-Blight" bylaw.

But before selectmen make a recommendation on the proposal — which calls for fines to be levied on residents whose properties lack maintenance or contain infestation, fire hazards and unsanitary conditions — selectmen will first hear from Town Health Director Tom Carbone on the causes and treatments associated with compulsive hoarding.

"I think what's driving a lot of this discussion right now is the Kirkland Drive issue," said Carbone, who will address selectmen on April 7. "This is something that we've had on our radar for a long time."

Approximately six properties in town meet criteria for compulsive hoarding, according to Carbone.

"I've been into houses where we've had clothes," he said. "Piles and piles. This particular house [they were] probably waist high, minimum, and some areas probably higher than that."

Another home of a compulsive hoarder was the sight of a sewage problem, Carbone said, and a resident's collection of magazines and books needed to be removed to fix the problem.

"If there was a fire, could these folks get out and could we get a firefighter in there to make a rescue?" asked Carbone. "That's my biggest concern."

As part of the town health department's Public Health Week schedule of events, Andover residents are invited to learn more about compulsive hoarding at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium on April 8 at 6:30 p.m., when an outreach clinician from Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley will speak about the issue in more detail.

"We're looking for better options," said Carbone. "I'm hoping the public will have a better understanding of what compulsive hoarding is and what it isn't. If we've got people who suffer from that and attend, they know there are some options out there and it can be helped."

A total of 1 to 2 percent of the general population are considered hoarders, according to Alicia Hussey, mental health program manager for Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley.

"I think it's more common than people realize," said Hussey. "It's really something that needs to be (treated) by a professional, because it's a problem that's really bigger than the stuff in the house or on the lawn."

Though compulsive hoarding is still diagnosed as a mental-health condition related to obsessive compulsive disorder, only 25 percent of hoarders have OCD, Hussey said.

"The program consists of basically a hoarding 101," said Hussey of the April 8 event. "We explain what compulsive hoarding is, how compulsive hoarding differs from clutter and how it's a health and safety risk."

Often compulsive hoarding can be triggered by trauma, loss or grief, Hussey said.

"It kind of depends on the person," said Hussey. "Usually it was a death of somebody that was close to them.

"It starts out because they're trying to hold onto the memory of the loved one that they lost."

Though compulsive hoarding can lead to public health issues and fire hazards, Hussey said care must be given when dealing with a patient. Enforcing a massive clean-out may only make things worse for the long-term, she said.

"Unless you get at the root to the meanings they give their possessions, you're not going to be able to change their behaviors," said Hussey. "Everyone looks at their possessions differently."

"One person's trash is another's treasure, you've got to take that into account," said Selectman Brian Major. "What we really need to understand is what we have in controls. If there's a health hazard, we have the ability to take action."

Typically, Carbone said a compulsive hoarder's home will fill up with materials before other residents begin to notice objects being collected on the lawn.

"That's usually when we get called, because people start seeing junk in their yards," said Carbone. "Just because it looks like a mess and it is a mess doesn't make it a threat to the public."

 

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