Long-term community support key to preventing return to hoarding: Charities

Someone approaching them with the aim of clearing their possessions may cause them to become more defensive, she added.

Building rapport can start off with engaging them in conversations, trying to understand residents as individuals, learning about their lives and significant milestones.

“This might start to build trust because they do feel respected and seen as individuals, rather than, well, you’re only coming to me because you’re trying to get me to reduce this behaviour or totally get rid of it altogether,” she said.

She noted that agencies have begun taking a community-focused approach, bringing together people from different task forces and volunteers to better understand and address the behaviour.

The public, too, has a part to play. Ms Lee said greater understanding could help people avoid approaching those who hoard from a defensive or aggressive position.

“If we can understand it, if we can work together to try to relieve some of this stress that people have in their lives, perhaps we can then have a more concerted approach at helping them with this behaviour.”