Mission

The Saginaw County Hoarding Task Force is a partnership of local public and private agencies whose purpose is to collaboratively seek to raise public awareness of hoarding and to preserve safe and appropriate housing by development and utilization of tools, best practices and early intervention strategies, by: 1) working with individuals to help achieve goals, mitigate the level of consequences of hoarding, and re-establishing home environmental quality and safety; 2) focusing on harm reduction principles; 3) recognizing that even if harmful behavior cannot be completely changed, modest behavioral change is beneficial, and meaningful and significant improvements can be made in quality of life; and 4) reducing the severity, impact and/or and harm for any individual citizen, families, neighborhoods, and the community, as well as the lead responding organizations. The Task Force was formed in 2015.

Hoarding Definition

Hoarding includes the collection of many items, even things that are useless or are of little value to most people, and items clutter the living spaces and keep the person from using their rooms as they were intended, and these items cause distress or problems in day-to- day activities.

Community Task Force Members

Representatives on the Saginaw Hoarding Task Force include: Saginaw County Community Mental Health Authority; Saginaw County Commission on Aging; Saginaw Housing Commission; Saginaw Charter Township; Health Delivery, Inc.; Saginaw County Sheriff; The Ezekiel Project; City of Saginaw; Saginaw County Public Health Department; Saginaw Landlords Association; Training & Treatment Innovations; Saginaw County 911; City of Saginaw Police; Covenant HealthCare Visiting Nurse Association; City of Saginaw Fire Department; Saginaw County Department of Health and Human Services; Saginaw County Animal Control; Parishioners on Patrol.

Work Plan Goals

• Development and deployment of an evidence-based treatment model with trained clinicians/supports, with associated funded services and resources in Saginaw.
• Development of treatment/intervention protocols including coordination with community first responders, home visitors, municipalities and other health and social resources.
• Implementation of a public community education and information campaign, with a local central referral/information number and website.
• Coordination of rehabiliation and/or property clean ups to reduce evictions/loss of usable homes, including deployment of volunteers and/or use of professional companies when indicated.
• Coordinated community tracking and monitoring of at-risk home sites, with outreach and follow up as indicated.
• Update of the Saginaw First Responder Guide to include hoarding resources and intervention and monitoring protocols.
• Overall goal: Prevention and/or mitigation of the extent and seriousness of hoarding situations in Saginaw County through early and effective identification and intervention whenever possible.