Tidy Home Tidy Mind (Cluttering & Hoarding Support Services)

**UPDATE: FRIDAY 12TH JULY 2024**

New referrals to THTM are currently on hold however support groups are at this time continuing. Please direct any questions to sharon.nelson@heartoftorbaycic.com. 
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It is probably easier to tell you what Tidy Home Tidy Mind (THTM) isn’t! It is NOT a general cleaning service or a replacement for someone needing regular home support.

THTM is a unique support program launched two years ago by Heart of Torbay CIC in recognition that there was a huge gap in mental health services. THTM is a program designed to support individuals and families with self-neglect, hoarding and cluttering issues in the home. Cluttering and hoarding is more often than not caused by deep trauma, depression, isolation, lack of service intervention, stubbornness to ask for help, lack of self-worth; there are many, many reasons and they are very individual. No amount of tick boxes will help you get to the heart of an issue unless you use a very strong person-centred approach and that’s what we do. Our THTM services are underpinned by a coaching practice called ‘Pure Heart Coaching’ designed to empower people in a non-judgemental, non-directive way.

Once engaged, all our clients have access to a closed THTM WhatsApp support group and are invited to attend regular THTM support sessions in Paignton. They are also invited to attend, free of charge, any other workshops, talks and events Heart of Torbay is hosting in the local area. Our door will always be open for clients to engage regardless of the level of support they are currently receiving.

Initial home visit: The purpose of this home visit is for the client to get to know us and for us to gain a better understanding of the challenges they are facing within the home environment. We are not there to ‘inspect’; we are there to start to build rapport and trust with the person and allow them to show us the challenges or any evidence (if it’s not clear on arrival) of a cluttering and hoarding issue. This initial home visit is to help us determine if 1) we are the right team to support them; 2) they are ready and willing to engage and work with us to ensure changes are made at home; and 3) we need to involve, engage or query other services with more specialist or longer term support.

A practical session is where practical steps are taken to start working with the client to de-clutter or de-hoard the home environment. Practical sessions last up to 1.5 hours depending on the client’s ability to mentally and physically engage for a set length of time. Practical sessions always involve coaching to determine goals, wants and needs. During these sessions we also work with the client to sort through, throw or pass on any items they want. 

We engage with and outsource to other specialist services as needed such as rubbish clearance, handyman services and deep cleaning services. Note there may be charges for these additional services.

Due to the nature of our program and services, more often than not a client is in need of specialised and urgent mental health support. We are able to engage local experienced, qualified and insured mental health practitioners and therapists to support the individual alongside our practical support (charges may apply). The two often go hand in hand and if the right mental and physical health support isn’t engaged alongside the de-cluttering or hoarding, within 4-6 months the home environment will be back to square one and having wasted time, money and resources which is what we all want to avoid. Most importantly, an individual’s support team are working alongside each other to provide consecutive and consistent recovery to ensure longer term change. 

Thanks to an award from the National Lottery Community Fund we are currently able to offer our initial calls and home visits free of charge. At the home visit, affordability for our practical support services will be discussed with the client. If deemed affordable (through support such as Disability Living Allowance, PIP, Carers Allowance or other means such as savings), we are able to provide our practical support sessions at a concessionary rate (again, thanks to our NLCF funding) at £20 per hour per support worker (£35 per hour for two support workers). Additional services such as outsourced practical services and therapies are discussed on a case by case basis, as is our practical support if deemed unaffordable.