Jenna Hiller
SAN ANTONIO -- Hoarding has been in the spotlight lately thanks to television shows that focus on people who hoard.
In San Antonio, that's led to more calls about hoarders for Adult Protective Services.
They get about twice as many calls now as they did a year ago.
The agency focused on the issue at a conference Friday where they looked to collaborate with other agencies.
Psychologist Irene Tobis said it's important for everyone to realize it's not as simple as giving a person a ticket and telling them to clean up.
"There's a lot of emotional attachment to the objects in the home, so it's very important to be respectful and kind and gentle about it and not to just say, 'Hey lady, clean up this mess,' and expect for that to happen in a few weeks," she said.
But while a person's dignity is important, so is a person's safety.
"It's either a health hazard or a fire hazard or the home itself is in such disrepair that it's going to be some type of code compliance issue, then that's really where we need to intervene," Joann Tobias-Molina, with Adult Protective Services, said.
Now that more hoarding cases are being reported, the next step is a task force, so that Adult Protective Services, Animal Care Services and Code Enforcement can work on the issue together..." More
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