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Children of hoarders have a voice and it needs to be heard.
COH as individuals and as a group can be change agents.
I encourage individual COH to call local "professional responders" and describe your parent's situation without giving out identifying information and if you don't like what you hear, suggest some alternatives, or suggest a meeting to explore alternatives. Maybe a Hoarding Task Force can be organized in your community. I guarantee that responders are tired of cleaning up a hoarder's home only to have it return to its former condition, sometimes overnight!...
in response to a post on the website. -childrenofhoarders.com
Original post from a COH:
| Quote: |
"i called the local ambulance company today. i wanted to know if they were called to my parents house, in the event of an emergency, what kind of "intervention" might come from their exposure to the "mess." the company supervisor told me that the responding emts are required to notify the police of any home in which a senior lives amidst squalor. also, after the police issue fines they then report the home to the local fire department.. . which leads to building inspections and the likely issuance of code violations. at the hospital, should either of my parents require emergency care, the emts would again report their living conditions to the receiving hospital personnel...
which would lead to their being taken into custody by senior social services until their home could be cleaned and re-inspected for habitation" |
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RESPONSE I RECEIVED VIA EMAIL from Mark Odom:
As a "professional" responder I find the above statements contrary to both my experience as well as what I've heard from my counterparts & colleagues in different parts of the US & Canada.
Some discrepancies: I police departments normally don't issue fines for squalor--its not a penal code violation--it might be a housing and building code, or health code, but cops usually don't enforce those codes—they usually refer those to those departments or
agencies. Also, most adult protective service agencies (APS) don't have a facility to take seniors to, nor do they have the money to pay for a "placement" or hospitalization; health insurance does not pay for "administrative stays" in hospitals for anyone who doesn't have a medical reason to be in an inpatient setting. In addition, I don't think many APS departments have the legal authority remove an adult
from their own home--its a common mistake to think APS has the same powers as Child Protective Services, but they generally don't; also, most senior service agencies wrestle with the ethics of when to and when not to violate an adult's right of self determination.
Every state has different laws, and even within the same state, individual counties may have different regulations, and even within
the counties, the cities may have different regulations. In Orange County (CA) where I live and work, one city has adopted building
codes that regulates the amount of trash and squalor in a home, and the city adjacent doesn't have any regulation concerning the
condition of the interior of private residences.
Yes, there are "mandated reporting laws" once most senior service professionals observe physical abuse of an elderly person, but "self
neglect" reporting may vary state to state, and the response of the "authorities" varies greatly from state to state as well.
The only way to get a clue of what might happen in your community is to call APS and ask. Don't be afraid, I'm not aware of any APS
department having the ability to "trace the call!" Call and talk to a supervisor and get their opinion as to what might happen. And then
call a different "responding" agency and see if their stories match. For example, call the local code enforcement agency and see what they
say about their authority to regulate the amount of trash and debris inside a private residence. I can almost guarantee that APS and
Code Enforcement will have very different stories. However, I'll be first to tell you that I'm working (as others are) to change that!
(I'll explain below.)
Believe it or not, most APS departments are in the business to help the elderly live in their own homes as long as possible. APS
investigates situations of elder abuse and also works to prevent or resolve cases of abuse so that the senior can live at home. Its more
expensive to house a senior in any type of facility than to support the senior living at home. Generally APS departments are not out to
be "big brother" and tell seniors how to live.
Health departments and code enforcement agencies have a different role. Historically, code enforcement departments deal with violators
of the community codes by warning the property owner and giving notice to "abate" within what they think is a reasonable time
period. When the property owner fails to do so, then citations and fines happen, and if that doesn't get the clean-up to happen, the
case ultimately it ends up in court and a judge makes a decision to force a clean-up. What I just stated is a gross over simplification
of a complicated legal process, and the process itself can actually happen in a many different forms. HOWEVER, many code enforcement
departments are beginning to realize that a small percentage (I'll guess 2%) of their complaints are concerning "packrats" and that they
can't deal with these individuals in the same way as they deal with everyone else. Some of these departments are trying to figure out
how to do their job differently with this "2%" who are hoarders.
Every community is different; they have different standards, and different codes/laws. States, counties, and cities frequently have
different perspectives concerning their right to regulate the condition of the interior of a private residence and different
perspectives concerning when to or not to intervene in "self abuse" situations.
I chair the Hoarding Task Force in my community. Feel free to check out our website:
http://www.ochealthinfo.com/behavioral/amhs/hoarding.htm
We have code enforcement officials, health officials, adult protective services, senior service agencies, professional
organizers, and many others coming together to try to figure out this phenomenon called hoarding. The old way of dealing with hoarders HAS NOT WORKED and we're trying to find new ways to deal with this issue. We're trying to develop humane and effective responses.
Forced/involuntary clean-outs only deal with the symptom, and the symptom comes back!
This advocacy and perspective change isn't just happening in my community. I've had the opportunity of witnessing change at the
California statewide association of code enforcement officials, as well as at national conferences such as the American Society on Aging
and National Guardianship Association. I've even traveled to other states and seen local communities come together to try understanding
hoarding and develop alternative ways of dealing with it. I'm advocating for change locally and elsewhere; colleagues of mine from
Boston, New York, Virginia, Nebraska, Texas, Ontario, and many other places, are also advocating for more effective and humane ways to
deal with hoarders.
Children of hoarders have a voice and it needs to be heard. COH as individuals and as a group can be change agents.
I encourage individual COH to call local "professional responders" and describe your parent's situation without giving out identifying information and if you don't like what you hear, suggest some alternatives, or suggest a meeting to explore alternatives. Maybe a Hoarding Task Force can be organized in your community. I guarantee that responders are tired of cleaning up a hoarder's home only to have it return to its former condition, sometimes overnight!
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Posted on Wednesday, March 28, 2007 @ 00:53:58 ICT by Donna
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