‘People think you’ve got 10,000 cats’: the support group for hoarders

Ruth Cookson struggled with hoarding for decades. Now she helps people in the support group. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian View image in fullscreen Ruth Cookson struggled with hoarding for decades. Now she helps people in the support group. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian ‘People think you’ve got 10,000 cats’: the support group for hoarders Many hoarders are scared to seek help but one UK housing association is taking a more empathetic approach A t one end of the table sits Tony*, who showers at his local leisure centre in Birkenhead every day. His landlord won’t fix his bathroom because of his hoarding. Then there’s Sarah*, who ended up homeless with her three teenagers after their landlord evicted them because of hoarding. In her new home the problem has started again, but she says she’s petrified to ask for help in case she loses her property. Sian Cowley, 35, who has struggled with hoarding for decades, says: “I’ve lived without central heating for two years. A lot of us live without the basics like hot water, heating and cooking because we are too scared to get people in to do repairs because of the threat of eviction.” The three shared their experiences during a Bringing Hoarders Together session, a fortnightly peer support group for hoarders in Wirral, Merseyside , run by Prima Group housing association, where dozens of people find a safe forum to open up about living with their mental health condition. View image in fullscreen Sian Cowley, 35, at a meeting of the Wirral support group for people who hoard. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian A Guardian investigation has found that since 2020, UK fire services have recorded a 78% increase in fires involving hoarding, or where “dangerous and excessive storage” was noted. Across the country, fire brigades have logged thousands of homes as high-risk because of hoarding. Last year in London alone there were more than 2,000 properties flagged by the fire service due to the level of hoarding inside, up from 1,200 four years earlier. People affected by hoarding, which was formally classified as a mental health condition by the World Health Organization in 2018, say they are scared to seek help because they fear being evicted and feel trapped in dangerous homes. Many who have tried to get support say there is little help available, and still a huge stigma attached to the disorder, which means they feel they will be turned away even by qualified mental health professionals. “You’re better off being a drug addict. You’re better off being an alcoholic,” says Laura Miller, 65, who was offered help after falling on the stairs over built up clutter. “Programmes about hoarders on TV have just perpetuated it as some kind of entertainment, taking the mick out of poor people,” she adds. View image in fullscreen Laura Miller: ‘Programmes about hoarders on TV have just perpetuated it as some kind of entertainment.’ Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian Chloe*, who be