Incheon Yeonsu-gu Supports Environmental Improvement and Counseling Treatment for Households Suspected of Hoarding Disorder

On the 10th, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon announced that it will promote a new welfare project this year to improve the living environment for households suspected of hoarding disorder, in collaboration with the Yeonsu-gu Community Social Security Council.

This project aims to identify households whose living environments have severely deteriorated due to hoarding disorder, organize their living spaces, and resolve hygiene and safety issues. Additionally, it focuses on preventing the long-term spread of the problem by establishing treatment and support systems in cooperation with the local community.

Households suspected of hoarding disorder tend to excessively accumulate items and trash inside their homes, causing various hygiene problems such as foul odors, insects, and mold, as well as safety issues including fire hazards and mobility difficulties, which require the attention and intervention of the local community.

Incheon Yeonsu-gu is identifying households suspected of hoarding disorder and taking steps to improve their living environment. Photo by Incheon Yeonsu-gu

The project involves the Dong Administrative Welfare Center and local social welfare organizations identifying target households, while the Yeonsu-gu Community Social Security Council provides primary services such as cleaning, waste disposal, and disinfection through cleaning and pest control companies. Subsequently, the Yeonsu-gu Mental Health Welfare Center offers individual counseling and mental health treatment to the recipients.

If counseling and treatment are necessary, psychological counseling is provided using vouchers from the Yeonsu-gu Public Health Center's "National Mind Investment Support Project," and if medication is required, psychiatric treatment is offered to fundamentally resolve the issues.

Lee Jae-ho, Mayor of Yeonsu-gu, stated, "This project is significant in that various local institutions, including local governments, social welfare organizations, and the Yeonsu-gu Mental Health Welfare Center, collaborate to address the hoarding disorder problem. We will actively identify vulnerable households and support stable living environments."