Historical Hoarding Training for Professional Organisers

On Friday 28th November 2014, 

history was made 

Around 10% of the Membership of The Association of Professional Declutterers & Organisers UK (apdo-uk) came together with fire officers for the UK's first ever Hoarding Awareness Training for Professional Organisers - a fun, warts and all day designed to help people decide whether they want to take on the types of challenges associated with helping people affected by hoarding.

The event was held at Surrey Fire & Rescue Service's HQ in Reigate, and was led by Heather Matuozzo of Clouds End CIC and Cherry Rudge of Rainbow Red, advisors to The Chief Fire Officers Association's (CFOA) Hoarding Working Group.

Heather gave a fascinating insight into Hoarding Disorder - which was classified as a mental illness in The American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM5) published in May 2013 - and outlined typical traits of individuals with hoarding behaviours; the necessity to be a detective when assessing and working with them - in order to discover what the underlying reasons are for the hoarding - and ideas for motivating people to help them with decision-making.

  

Andy Honey of Clouds End CIC described examples of complex hoarding cases involving a multi-agency approach, and outlined options for inspiring people to disposal of unwanted items, whilst Cherry showed outlined processes, stakeholder complexities and possible risks involved when multiple agencies are involved. 

Professional organisers thinking of working with individuals with hoarding tendencies were left under no illusion about how overwhelming and time consuming it can sometimes be when working with them.  

Bryn Strudwick - Group Commander, Community Safety Manager of Surrey Fire & Rescue Service - outlined examples of fire safety dangers associated with hoarding, and what can be done to reduce the risks.  Shocking photos demonstrated where people hadn't appreciated the risks to them and their homes.  

Delegates were given a copy of Surrey Fire & Rescue Service's brand new Multi Agency DVD Staff Training Package, entitled Keeping YOU Safe from Fire Campaign.  The pack is designed to help agencies work with them to protect vulnerable people in Surrey living in the community from the risks fire.

Vasoulla Saviddou - who appeared on TV in Britain's Biggest Hoarders in 2012 - gave a fascinating insight into her personal experiences of having hoarding behaviours, and how it felt for her to have professional organisers helping her.

Heather commented: "Many thanks to Bryn Srudwick for organising a 'groundbreaking' and 'pioneering' training session - combining some natural partners for helping people with hoarding issues."

Final thought…

Never underestimate the power of your actions.

With one small gesture you can change a person’s life.

For better or for worse….

Delegate feedback

"The 'Working with Hoarders' training day today in Reigate was brilliant! Thank you both Cherry and Heather (and Andy and Vassoulla). I feel my understanding of my work is improved whether I eventually work with serious hoarding or not."

"Very insightful and I believe a must for everybody working with hoarders or contemplating to do so.  What a brilliant day!   Thanks so much." 

"The info day at Reigate was just great. So informative and interesting.  I'm so glad I managed to get there."   

"Thanks Heather and Cherry - found it very useful, not least as it really brought home what working with hoarders might involve."

Further hoarding awareness training for professional organisers planning on working with hoarders is planned, in association with Fire & Rescue Services across the UK.  

For information please contact Heather Matuozzo or Cherry Rudge.

Recycle, shop online & donate to The Firefighters Charity

One of my top highlights of 2014 was visiting the Houses of Parliament in May to help launch the first ever UK Hoarding Awareness Week, organised by the Hoarding Working Group of the Chief Fire Officers Association, of which I'm a member.  

As a result I'm also now working closely with Surrey Fire & Rescue Service, which has well and truly opened my eyes and given me a much greater understanding and appreciation of the extraordinary lengths the Fire & Rescue Services (FRS) go to to try and prevent fires and accidents, as well as fight them.

Neenaw! Just £5.00 buys a toy fire engine

Which is why I'm doing my bit to support The Fire Fighters Charity, not only by buying Christmas cards and gifts from them, but also by promoting their recycling services - something very relevant to decluttering!

Things like textile recycling, door to door clothing collections, and printer cartridge recycling helps them raise money towards the £9 million pounds per year it costs to support serving and retired members of the fire and rescue community when they are in need. 

For example, the charity runs three rehabilitation and recouperation centres; a help-line; a magazine; health, well being and welfare services, plus local support for people in their homes.

So please help me help our brave firefighters and their families by giving a donation, buying something from their online shop, or depositing your unwanted items at Fire Fighters Charity textile banks at fire stations, community sites and supermarkets across the UK (they're bright yellow with the Charity's logo on them so you can't miss them!).  Enter your postcode here (scroll down to get to the table) to find your nearest bank.

With your help we can make life easier for the wonderful people who help protect and save us, and help recycle and re-use our planet's precious resources at the same time.

Thank you.

Cherry 

Dementia awareness training

There are plenty of things about my job which give me enormous amounts of pleasure, and the training I've received this week has done just that.  

On Monday I was very fortunate to be a guest of Surrey Fire & Rescue Service for a half day practical training session that they're giving ALL their staff - both firefighters and office-based - in order to help them improve the way they help and protect people with dementia.



I won't give the game away and explain what the training consists of, just in case you're due to attend the training and don't know what to expect!  Suffice to say it was BRILLIANT, disconcerting, disorientating, a little painful at times (but not in a kinky way!) and DEFINITELY not death by PowerPoint! 

I feel very honoured to have been given the opportunity to attend Surrey FRS's training, and proud to live in a county where people with dementia can sleep safer in their beds, knowing that if there is a fire they'll meet firefighters who will be dementia aware, and should hopefully be more respectful and patient with them as a result.

I came away feeling I had a much better understanding of the difficulties faced by older people, and particularly those with dementia.  Especially with things like not being able to see or hear things clearly, disorientation and feeling hopeless.

I'm also now a total convert to the need for people with dementia to have a home safety visit from the Fire & Rescue Service, and fitting Telecare systems in the homes of people with Dementia. 

I learned that of 8 deaths in Surrey caused by fire in the home, 6 of the people had dementia.  All of them had smoke alarms, but NONE of the smoke alarms were linked to a Telecare system.


Telecare enables people to remain people to remain independent in their own homes, by providing person-centred technologies to support the individual or their carers.

It costs from around £55 per quarter, and includes things like:

• Bed or chair occupancy sensors
• Door contact alarms
• Flood detectors
• Gas Detectors
• Passive infrared detectors (PIR)
• Bogus caller alarms
• Pendant alarms
• Falls detectors
• Pill dispensers
• Smoke alarms
• Temperature extremes alarms
• Carer alert systems

Wearing a pendant alarm means that when the pendant is pressed, the alarm is activated and a call is automatically made to a care centre, this is staffed 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Without having to get to the phone, the caller can then speak to a specially trained operator, who will respond to their needs and organise appropriate assistance.

As dementia is a progressive disease (contrary to what a social worker told me once....), it's important to get Telecare installed in a person's home sooner rather than later, so that they get used to having them around; otherwise they may not remember to use them in the event of an emergency, or attempt to disable them - which defeats the object of having the system to help keep them safe!

Then on Tuesday I was in Guildford learning about "Understanding how to support people with dementia, & their carers", which was organised by Surrey County Council as part of their Dementia Friendly Surrey Campaign.

As someone who is currently caring for a close family member with Alzheimer's, the training was very timely and often poignant.

Not only was it a great opportunity to find out whether what I've been doing so far had been along the right lines (fortunately it seems it has - much to my relief), it helped me understand the enormous benefits - to me personally and for my business - of being able to respect, empower, engage and embrace people with dementia and their carers, in order to improve the quality of their lives - which was the key message of the day.

The training was delivered by the wonderfully inspirational Sarah Mould, a former Occupational Therapist turned trainer and consultant in dementia care with The Dementia Training Company.


I learned that the main risk for developing dementia is having poor blood circulation and high blood pressure, and that the most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer's Disease.

And apparently it's not just the elderly who are effected - it's becoming more common for people in their 30s to be diagnosed with dementia, which is utterly shocking.  

Equally shocking is the number of people aged over 65 living with dementia in Surrey alone.  In 2012 it was around 15,500, but by 2020 that figure is expected to rise to 19,000 (a 23% increase).  Extrapolate that type of scary statistic across the UK, and then across the world, and it becomes something of epidemic proportions.

Which means an increasing number of my friends, family, colleagues, clients and potential clients will have dementia - a sobering thought.  And even though dementia isn't necessarily hereditary, of course there's a strong likelihood I could have it too one day.

So if you come across someone who shows signs of looking as though or saying they're a bit lost or confused, or finding it difficult to explain what they're trying to do, or looking around anxiously, or having difficulty handling or understanding their money, it's quite possible they may have dementia-type symptoms.

Also look out for things like difficulties with speech, or having problems with what you're saying, asking you to repeat yourself frequently, or - the classic - repeating themselves frequently too.

Please don't turn away from these people, or ignore them - imagine how that would feel if someone did that to you under similar circumstances.

• Be conscious of the cognitive difficulties a person may have
• Make sure the environment supports effective communication - for example, you may need to move to an area which is quieter and less distracting for them
• Keep calm and slow down when you're talking to them, at an appropriate volume  
• Speak clearly at an appropriate volume, using excellent non-verbal communication (eg. calm facial expressions) and non-threatening body language
• be specific about what you're telling them or asking them to do - DON'T spout lists at them as choices - it's unlikely they'll remember what you've said
• Write things down to aid understanding
• Use pictures to aid understanding (photos are better than drawings)

I applaud what Surrey County Council is trying to do through its Dementia-Friendly campaign, and I am proud to be helping it become a more inclusive and supportive place to live for people with dementia, their families and carers.   

This blog is just the first of many things I'm going to do to help cascade what I've learned this week.  

What will YOU do to make YOUR community more dementia friendly?  

Because what you do now to make it easier for people with dementia to live well could make life easier for you or your loved ones in the future.

Food for thought...


For more information:

• Dementia Friendly Surrey - www.dementiafriendlysurrey.org.uk
• Alzheimer's Society - www.alzheimers.org.uk
• Surrey Telecare - www.surreytelecare.com
• Surrey Fire & Rescue Service - Home Safety Visits
• The Dementia Training Company www.thedementiatrainingcompany.co.uk
• The Association of Professional Declutterers & Organisers UK - www.apdo-uk.co.uk

Hoarding Awareness Training for Professional Organisers in the UK - 28th Nov 2014

Are you a professional organiser who works with hoarders? 

Or have you thought of becoming a professional organiser and working with hoarders, but want some reassurance before giving it a go?

Then please join Cherry Rudge of Rainbow Red and Heather Matuozzo of Clouds End CIC on Friday 28th November 2014 for a special training day aimed at helping professional organisers understand and cope with some of the challenges we face when working with people affected by extreme clutter.  

Cherry and Heather represent The Association of Professional Declutterers & Organisers UK (apdo-uk) on the Chief Fire Officers Association’s (CFOA) Hoarding Working Group, which organised the first ever UK Hoarding Awareness Week in 2013.

CFOA's Hoarding Working Group is working to create integrated best practices amongst the UK Fire and Rescue Service, professional organisers and other agencies working with hoarders.

Surrey Fire & Rescue Service (who are also Members of CFOA’s Hoarding Working Group) have kindly agreed to host the day at their Reigate HQ, and are keen to raise awareness of the safety issues relating to hoarding; they will give an overview of how professional organisers, hoarders, the emergency services and other key stakeholders can work together to reduce the risk of fire or accident in a hoarder’s home. 

 

The day will cover a wide range of topics including:

• Identifying the traits of hoarders
• Hoarding disorder - mental illness & other health challenges
• Conducting interviews and assessments & report writing
• Using the Clutter Image Rating Scale
• A talk by representatives from Surrey Fire & Rescue Service’s Fire Investigation & Community Safety Management teams about:
• home fire safety visits, and follow-up actions taken if there is extreme clutter
• hoarding protocols
• A hoarder’s experience of working with professional organisers, support services (eg. social services), therapists, etc
• Social housing & Hoarding Taskforces
• Social Services, direct payments, etc
• Eviction and re-housing
• Practical challenges – getting rid of stuff, short-term storage, etc
• Hoarder support and self-help groups
• Safeguarding ourselves as professional organisers

There will be plenty of opportunities to ask questions and share knowledge and experiences – please help us make the day as interactive as possible; our aim is to end up with a network of professional friends and colleagues who follow common best practices when working with hoarders, and support each other through what can be challenging and draining experiences.

 

 Date:               Friday 28th November 2014

 

 Time:               Registration from 9.30am for a 10am start

                        Estimated finish time: 4pm

 

 Venue:             Surrey Fire & Rescue Service HQ, REIGATE, Surrey 

                        (A map will be sent to you once your booking is confirmed)

 

 Costs:              apdo-uk Members:             £70

                        Non-apdo-uk Members:     £100

 

Refreshments:    Tea, coffee & biscuits will be provided. 

                        Feel free to bring your own herbal/decaffeinated, drinks.

                        Please bring your own lunch as there is no canteen on site. 

                                                 

Spaces are limited to about 20, so book early to avoid disappointment. 

If you miss out this time, don't worry - we're going on tour with this training around the UK, so we'll hopefully be coming to a town near you soon - certainly before UK Hoarding Awareness Week 2015.  

To reserve your place or for more information, please contact Heather Matuozzo (Clouds End CIC) or Cherry Rudge (Rainbow Red).

                                     

We look forward to seeing you on November 28th for what promises to be an exciting, honest and revealing warts-and-all day of camaraderie 

and FUN!