Hoarding support service 'makes huge difference'

Anya said she still had "a long way to go" but was grateful for the support

A woman from Norwich has said a local hoarding support service has made a "huge difference" to her life.

The Safe and Habitable Homes service is a partnership between Norwich City Council, Norfolk County Council and St Martin's Housing Trust.

It helps people in Norwich to "declutter" and make their property safer.

Anya, who has been under the scheme for the past 18 months and did not give her surname, said she had been looking for help for a long time before finding the scheme, and other services were not "available or appropriate".

Anya said that previous attempts to help her hoarding were rushed.

"I think it's human nature that everybody just wants everything done, but it's a process and it's not as easy as that," she said.

Even a year and a half in, Anya says she still has "a long way to go".

"It takes time to build trust, get over the embarrassment, and actually let go of the stuff," she said.

"You need encouragement and a certain amount of pressure, but you've got to be empowered to ultimately make that decision yourself."

The service has had about 140 referrals in its first two years

The Safe and Habitable Homes Project provides long-term support to its users.

Jaya Merryweather is an integrated care co-ordinator and said this was a "unique" aspect of this scheme.

"We know that everyone is an individual, and we want to get to know somebody and how they want things to be," she said.

"I think that's quite few and far between in terms of services out there."

Since starting almost two years ago, the service has received about 140 referrals.

"We've identified so many people across Norwich who are struggling," Ms Merryweather said.

Alison Roe, a social worker involved in the project, added: "There's lots more people that we don't know about that we can help."

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