Suwon City Supports Cleaning Trash Piles for Households Vulnerable to 'Storage Obsession'

The city of Suwon in Gyeonggi Province is launching the 'Clean Care Project' to clean up homes piled with garbage belonging to vulnerable households suffering from hoarding disorder. Hoarding disorder is a compulsive condition where individuals cannot discard any items, regardless of their use, and store them at home.

On the 22nd, Suwon City announced that it will carry out the '9th Clean Care Project' in cooperation with the Gyeonggi Community Chest of Korea, Suwon-Wuman Regional Self-Support Center, Suwon City Happiness Mental Health Welfare Center, and the Gyeonggi Community Chest of Korea until the end of December.

The Clean Care Project, operated with private donations designated to the Gyeonggi Community Chest of Korea, identifies low-income households with mental and physical impairments living in poor conditions surrounded by heaps of garbage.

Suwon City Hall

The main services include ▲ collection of garbage and waste ▲ indoor and outdoor cleaning and disinfection (sterilization and pest control) ▲ mental health counseling ▲ linkage to private resources and services.

Suwon City started the project in July 2015 and has helped 140 households over the past eight years.

This year, Suwon City will promptly provide a package service within 14 days that includes cleaning, pest control, and mental counseling to vulnerable households facing difficulties due to hoarding disorder. Follow-up on-site inspections will be conducted to minimize the recurrence of hoarding disorder among the beneficiaries. The target households are low-income families (recipients of basic livelihood security or those with income below 120% of the median standard) who have stored large amounts of garbage (over 2 tons).

A Suwon City official stated, "The Clean Care support project will greatly help improve the quality of life of the beneficiaries and resolve neighborhood issues. We will actively identify households suspected of hoarding disorder and provide integrated case management to prevent recurrence."