{"id":263365,"date":"2025-11-05T13:05:16","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T13:05:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/263365\/"},"modified":"2025-11-05T13:05:16","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T13:05:16","slug":"historic-commons-debate-offers-hope-over-hoarding-support-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/263365\/","title":{"rendered":"Historic Commons debate offers hope over hoarding support"},"content":{"rendered":"

Caroline Gall and <\/p>\n

Ben Godfrey,West Midlands<\/p>\n

\"BBCBBC<\/p>\n

David from Shard End began hoarding more than a decade ago<\/p>\n

A social enterprise says it believes the UK could finally open the doors to better care for people living with a hoarding disorder, following a landmark debate in Parliament.<\/p>\n

MPs gathered in the House of Commons on 22 October to discuss for the first time the mental health condition, which affects an estimated 2.5% to 6% of the UK population – potentially up to four million people.<\/p>\n

The adjournment debate was put forward by Paulette Hamilton, MP for Birmingham Erdington and acting chair of the health and social care committee.<\/p>\n

She urged the government to develop new national guidelines as a matter of urgency.<\/p>\n

Among those watching closely was Heather Matuozzo, founder of Clouds End, a Birmingham-based social enterprise that has supported hundreds of individuals struggling with hoarding.<\/p>\n

“The doors are open now, and we have put a brick behind it,” she said, expressing optimism about the future of care and funding.<\/p>\n

‘I’m keeping the Barbies’<\/p>\n

David, 75, from Shard End, began hoarding more than a decade ago<\/a>. After the loss of his parents, he found comfort in collecting Barbie dolls, soap, toothpaste and stacks of newspapers.<\/p>\n

“It’s helped me,” he said. “I’ve been able to throw out some things – we filled four or five skips – but I’m keeping the Barbies.”<\/p>\n

David is one of many who have received support from Clouds End, which works under contract with Birmingham City Council to provide social interventions via mental health referrals.<\/p>\n

\"Heather<\/p>\n

Heather Matuozzo has supported hundreds of individuals struggling with hoarding<\/p>\n

Following a series of BBC Midlands Today reports earlier this year,<\/a> concerns grew that hoarding disorder cases had surged since the Covid pandemic, yet specific funding was in short supply.<\/p>\n

Psychologists said isolation, grief, and economic uncertainty have all intensified hoarding behaviours, especially among older adults.<\/p>\n

The Centre for Mental Health estimates that the overall cost of mental ill health in England is now \u00a3300bn annually.<\/p>\n

Yet hoarding disorder remains largely under-recognised and underfunded, with most support falling to grassroots organisations and overstretched local authorities.<\/p>\n

Ms Matuozzo said demand in Birmingham is high, but limited resources mean some referrals must be turned away until new funding becomes available.<\/p>\n

\"Paulette<\/p>\n

Paulette Hamilton MP has called on the government to develop new national guidelines as a matter of urgency<\/p>\n

In the Commons debate, Ms Hamilton, herself a former district nurse, called for a “multi-agency approach” that includes mental health services, housing, social care, and emergency responders.<\/p>\n

She urged investment in research and data collection to better understand the scale and impact of hoarding.<\/p>\n

Health minister Dr Zubir Ahmed MP responded by highlighting government efforts to expand mental health care, including 8,500 new workers and six pilot neighbourhood centres offering 24\/7 support.<\/p>\n

But he said there were no specific plans for a national hoarding strategy.<\/p>\n

“With love from families, patience from friends and the ongoing support of charities and third-sector organisations, countless people with hoarding disorder have managed to live safe, healthy and fulfilling lives,” he said.<\/p>\n

As the conversation around hoarding disorder moves from the shadows into the spotlight, campaigners hope this marks the beginning of a more compassionate and coordinated response.<\/p>\n

Ms Matuozzo said the momentum felt real, and she would not be surprised if a national strategy was developed over time.<\/p>\n

“I think we’ve got the guidelines now, once Paulette referred to in the chamber, and we \u2013 as social enterprises and charities – need to keep them as our mantra,” she said. “We’ll get there.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Caroline Gall and Ben Godfrey,West Midlands BBC David from Shard End began hoarding more than a decade ago…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":263366,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[49,48,84,393,394],"class_list":{"0":"post-263365","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-mental-health","12":"tag-mentalhealth"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263365"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263365\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}