Webinar Description:

This webinar will examine hoarding in the housing context with a practical focus on interventions that support safety, housing stability, and dignity. Participants will learn what hoarding is (and is not), how it differs from clutter, and why crisis-driven or punitive responses often make situations worse. The session will introduce a harm reduction framework and will provide guidance on identifying specific safety risks associated with hoarding (e.g., fire hazards, blocked exits, structural strain, sanitation issues, and impaired access for emergency services) and will explain why these conditions create real dangers for tenants and others in the building.

The webinar will also explore the roles of key actors commonly involved in these cases, including housing providers, fire departments,  and legal systems, and how their interventions shape outcomes. Finally, it will highlight advocacy strategies and practical tools for setting clear, achievable expectations, improving cross-sector coordination, and reducing harm while respecting tenant rights and autonomy.

Instructor: Persephone Larkin

Instructor Bio: 

Persephone is a fourth-year PhD student in Clinical Psychology at the University of British Columbia. Her research focus on how stigma can lead to responses that limit choice, such as eviction or forced cleanouts, for those who hoard.

She has worked directly with low-income housing providers to improve how hoarding is addressed in practice. This includes interviewing tenants living with severe clutter, helping housing organizations create mental health–informed policies, and revising the language used in letters and documents to reduce shame and conflict. She has also helped guide staff in using harm reduction approaches with tenants who hoard, working closely with supervisors and frontline workers and shadowing staff in their daily work.

During her master’s training, Persephone helped develop a safety risk assessment tool for cluttered homes using a group consensus process. This project brought together housing staff, community health workers, fire services, inspectors, and other service providers to identify the most important risks to look for in hoarded living spaces.

Her work aims to support safer homes, prevent unnecessary evictions, and promote responses to hoarding that are practical, respectful, and effective.