We’ve received praise from one of customers

We’re very proud to be supporting Mind as our charity of the year for 2019. We’ve raised just over £12,000 so far, but it’s more than simply raising money.

We want to raise awareness there’s support and advice available to help anyone experiencing a mental health problem. Mind campaign to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding.

Mental health problems affect around one in four people in any given year. They range from common problems, like depression and anxiety, to rarer problems such as hoarding and schizophrenia.

According to Mind hoarding is when your need to keep things causes you distress or interferes with your day to day life. Increasingly it’s being recognised as a condition by itself, as well as sometimes being a symptom of other mental health problems. People used to think hoarding was a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but research suggests they aren’t the same.

We’ve been working with Kent-based company, Declutter Divas, to help one tenant, who’s already seeing huge results.

"I was so overwhelmed but they just turned up and got cracking; they didn’t stop. I never used to have people in the house, I felt embarrassed, but I don’t mind people coming in now. Thank you to everyone involved." - Resident, who wishes to remain anonymous

The Divas, made up of best friends Zoe and Allyson spent around two weeks with the tenant in total, between January and April.

“We went in with bags of energy and motivation. It left the tenant feeling uplifted and ready for change. It took a while but we built up a good relationship of trust, it’s worked so well and they felt really positive and uplifted by it”, said Zoe.

“We’re completely non-judgemental and are there to support the clients as much as we can. When we do a job we work with a family over a number of weeks so the results are sustainable”, said Allyson.

"We’re very proud to be supporting Mind as our charity of the year and part of that work is to raise awareness of conditions like hoarding. According to NHS England, the reasons why someone begins hoarding aren’t fully understood, but what we do know is that there’s lots of support and advice available. We’re pleased we’ve been able to support this customer and hope that we’ll be able to help more people in the future." - Georgina Pennicott, Customer Team Leader at mhs homes

Declutter Divas have been running for more than 12 years and specialise in hoarding. “We’ve worked with psychologists and have a lot of experience and understanding about the different things people can go through.”

They try to recycle as much as they can and will re-use furniture that’s donated to them from local people and organisations. “People really value that”, added Zoe.

The Divas managed to source some curtains and bedroom furniture for the family which they were overjoyed with.

Allison Panks, Customer Liaison Officer at mhs homes said: “The family thanked me several times and told me how grateful they were, which was really lovely. It's good to see the house in a better and more importantly, safe condition. ”

If you think you might be hoarding, Mind has sections on self-care and treatments which you can find here.

You can find out more about Declutter Divas by visiting their website or by emailing info@declutterdivas.co.uk.