A fundraiser has been launched to help clear a man’s home–after he became a hoarder when he lost his family in a car crash.
The unnamed homeowner from Somerset, a county in southwestern England, in the U.K., turned to hoarding after his mental health deteriorated following the tragedy seven years ago. He neglected his accommodation to an “unliveable” point–with desperation forcing him to message a local cleaning company.
Laura Summers, 20, started up Glastonbury-based The Sleek Easy Clean in January. She says the man reached out to her after she advertised in a local Facebook group.
Summers now wants to help the man, who wishes to remain anonymous, turn his life around and clear his house. The Sleek Easy Clean team usually obtain funds privately from customers or approach local committees.
But in this circumstance, they are having to find the money through a fundraising campaign. She said: “This man got in touch with us and he explained how much he has been struggling.
“He’s very anxious and no one knows how he is living–he hasn’t even gone to his GP and also he does not want to get evicted. It is difficult for us to get the funds when the individual wants to remain anonymous, so we arranged the GoFundMe to hopefully help him out.”
The team plan to not only deep clean the whole home, but also put carpets down, repaint the walls and install a new kitchen. Summers said: “We are going to turn his whole place around.
“We need to do a biohazardous clean because it’s in such an unliveable state that we can’t even walk into all the rooms due to the amount of rubbish around. All the money we have leftover after the cleaning will go straight into getting him things like new cupboards, a mattress and bedding–and helping him afford food and go back to work.”
According to Britain’s National Health Service, some hoarders “may realize they have a problem but are reluctant to seek help because they feel extremely ashamed, humiliated or guilty about it.”
Summers says the difference in the man since her organization has been involved has been “remarkable.” She said: “As of yesterday he started going to a church group, he’s looking for furniture to put into his home–I’ve never seen him so happy.
“It’s incredible the difference some support can make. It takes a lot to reach out when you’re struggling, and a lot of people I’ve spoken to won’t even go to their GP–so it feels nice that they trust me and will let us support them.”
The fundraiser currently stands at £515 of its £5,000 target.
Produced in association with SWNS.
