Making Room
We work in a therapeutic and practical way to help people who hoard to declutter their homes and achieve their goals
Making Room is one of a few services that works with people in their own homes to support them to declutter, regardless of the level of hoarding.
Our approach is innovative, practical and therapeutic, which ensures people remain at the centre of their support and retain agency over decision making and planning.
“I have been able to break the block I have had for years about decluttering.”
— Making Room service user
How we work
Opinions and perceptions of what hoarding behaviour is vary significantly; what one person considers severe hoarding, another may consider only a temporary excess of things.
Gaining perspective on someone’s own understanding of their situation is so important because there are lots of reasons why people hoard. Taking time to understand allows us to learn about people’s needs and figure out how best to support them.
The risks associated with hoarding can be high and continue over a long period of time, having a detrimental impact on people’s everyday life.
We work with people to agree a plan of action and reduce the impact of hoarding on people’s physical and mental health through regular visits to the home, ongoing conversations and practical hands-on support.
What to expect
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Before
New referrals should be submitted with a fully complete referral form so we can carry out an initial ‘paper’ assessment before we visit for the first time.
We will carry out a 30 minute assessment visit to estimate how many decluttering sessions might be needed and confirm the cost.
We also use the assessment visit to confirm that the person is committed to participating in the decluttering process to make their home safer.
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During
Decluttering sessions are usually 2 hours each week, but we can tailor session length and frequency depending on the needs and preferences of the person we’re working with.
During the sessions, we enable people to make decisions about what they want to keep, and provide practical help with removing items they don’t want to keep.
While we’re decluttering, we talk with the person about their hoarding and help them identify the triggers so they can achieve long-lasting behaviour change.
We’re in regular contact with the referrer and/or allocated workers to update them on progress and any challenges.
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After
When we’ve delivered the initial number of sessions, we’ll assess where we are and talk to the person about whether any additional sessions may be required.
Once the case has closed, we will carry out a visit two months after the final session to review whether progress has been maintained.
Do you want help with hoarding or do you know someone who does?
Find referral forms here.