Hoarding Disorder Conference Slated for Oct. 18 in Hadley

HADLEY — “Hoarding Disorder: Recovery Is Real” will be the theme of this year’s conference presented by the Western Massachusetts Hoarding Task Force and sponsored by ServiceNet, the Center for Human Development (CHD), the Healthcare News, and the Western Massachusetts Public Health Assoc.

The conference will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 18 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Hadley Farms Meeting House, 41 Russell St., Hadley. It is open to clinicians and direct-care workers; service personnel including firefighters, police, and housing staff; and peers, family, and friends who want to better understand and support individuals with hoarding disorder.

Leaders in the field will provide the latest clinical developments in the diagnosis and treatment of hoarding disorder, and will discuss its practical applications. The keynote speaker for the conference will be Jesse Edsell-Vetter, Hoarding Intervention Program manager with the Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership Center for Hoarding Intervention. Featured presenters will include Lee Shuer and Bec Belofsky Shuer of Mutual Support Consulting, and Dr. Randy Frost, professor of Psychology at Smith College. Lee Shuer is the co-developer of the Buried in Treasures Workshop and WRAP for Reducing Clutter, and Frost is co-author of Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things.

Conference attendees will learn about peer support and recovery from people who are living with hoarding disorder, and from experienced peer advocates and trainers. The presentations and workshops will explore ways to maintain housing stability, including harm-reduction efforts to meet building code, and reasonable accommodations required by tenancy laws. They will also address the impact of hoarding stigma on communities and individuals, and will focus on building trust in personal and professional relationships with people who are living with hoarding disorder.

To help make the conference accessible, the Massachusetts Coalition of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing will be providing CART and ASL interpreters.

Registration fee is $85, and continuing-education units are available for professionals. To register, click here, or see the event listings on ServiceNet’s or CHD’s Facebook pages. For more information, contact Tara Ferrante at (413) 587-7731 or tferrante@servicenet.org.