North Shore Center for Hoarding and Cluttering Receives an Aging Achievement Award

North Shore Elder Services announces that the North Shore Center for Hoarding and Cluttering (NSCHC) has been honored with an Aging Achievement Award by the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a). NSCHC was one of thirty local aging programs to receive honors at the n4a Annual Conference & Tradeshow this past July in San Diego, CA. Accepting the honor was Clinical Hoarding Specialist for the NSCHC, Marnie Matthews, MSW, LCSW.

The 2016 n4a Aging Innovations and Achievement Awards recognizes Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) and Title VI Native American aging programs that develop and implement cutting-edge approaches to support older adults, people with disabilities and their family caregivers. A part of the criteria for the selection of the honorees was the ease with which other agencies could replicate the program in their communities.

"With the health care landscape continuing to change rapidly, our members are discovering new ways to position themselves in the long-term and health care marketplaces, as well as to strengthen long-standing services, to meet the needs of America's rapidly growing older adult population, " said n4a's Chief Executive Officer Sandy Markwood. "Our members work tirelessly, and with little fanfare in their communities, and this program enables us to shine a well-deserved spotlight on their critical work to support older adults' health, safety, independence and dignity,” Ms. Markwood added.

Marnie Matthews describes the program and what it offers. “The NSCHC runs four support groups per week,
10 weeks at a time, year round. Hoarding Disorder is a chronic and progressive disorder that benefits significantly from on-going support and skills training. The number of groups being held at NSCHC is the result of an 85% retention rate of group members. The results of hoarding behavior often lead to the risk of
eviction. NSCHC has developed a client-centered, multi-disciplinary collaborative approach that sets objective and reasonable expectations partnered with a system for monitoring and measuring progress that has proven successful in resolving the majority of cases referred. In addition to the weekly support groups and training, NSCHC also offers individual and family counseling and crisis case management.”