A public education promoting awareness of the dangers of hoarding for seniors.

2. Definition of hoarding from the Mayo Clinic
• Is the excessive collection of items, along with
the inability to discard them.
• This can include items as well as animals

3. Statistics of hoarding
• Those most likely to be hoarders
- older people
- unmarried females who live alone
- symptoms occur in 1/3 of OCD patients
- is a common symptom of dementia patients
• Estimated 6 million people, 1 in 20 affected

4. Hazards associated with hoarding
• Health hazards
- medications can get lost in the clutter
- dust and mold can exacerbate lung problems
- insects and rodents
- difficulty getting a stretcher into home
- trip hazards

5. • Fire hazards
- obstructed means of ingress and egress
“ If you can’t get out the fire department
can’t get in”
- unplanned load on structural supports of
house
- heavy fire load (more fuel for the fire)
- piles could fall over due to the fire or hose
streams trapping you

6. • No access to maintain
smoke alarms
• More fuel more smoke
• Larger fire increases chance
of fire spread to neighbors
home