Are You a Concerned Third Party?

When a Concerned Third Party Contacts Us About a Hoarding Situation

​We at Clutter & Hoarding Pros™ receive dozens of calls and emails each week from concerned third parties seeking help with a hoarder. These include neighbors, friends, or relatives--both local and distant; plus social workers, psychologists, adult/child protective services, and other care workers.

We are familiar with almost every scenario, and we've heard just about every story. That being said, every client is unique in his or her life story, reasons for hoarding, type of items hoarded, level of severity, and willingness to confront their hoarding and accept help.

This is where concerned third parties usually come into the picture. Whether on a personal level—family, friends, neighbors—or a more official level—social workers and other care professionals—third parties are often the ones who initiate the process of looking for help and resources to clear a hoarder's home.

Although we always strive to provide as much helpful information as possible to concerned third parties, we are not permitted by law to provide actual hands-on services for a hoarder unless the individual with the hoarding disorder gives us direct consent. If this isn't possible, we must obtain permission from a legal guardian with assigned rights of either power of attorney or conservatorship, which is done through an estate attorney and can involve a judge-ordered ruling. 

However, even without one of these scenarios in place—direct permission either from the hoarder him- or herself or from a legal guardian—we can provide you, the concerned third party, with a rich referral list of trusted service providers. You can share this list with the individual with the hoarding disorder in order to give them as much support and encouragement as possible to seek both mental health counseling and a remediation services such as Clutter & Hoarding Pros™. 

But if, as the third party, you do have either power of attorney or conservatorship rights, the next step would be to make an appointment for an in-home assessment. During this assessment, we will provide you with an accurate appraisal of the situation and best practices we implement in order to make the home quickly habitable—whether the final goal is to sell the home, to let the individual or family safely move back into the property, or to prepare items for an estate sale. 

We are here to help you navigate this difficult and often devastating situation, and we'll guide you in the right direction to get the help you need for the hoarder in your life.