A Letter from the Chair
Summer
Summer. We pine for the long, warm days. Then it arrives! This year with a flare…
If we were to correlate the overwhelming nature of this season’s weather and the impact of possessions on some people’s homes… we could say that both can smoulder the senses.
It is always hard for me to disregard the magnitude of the impact of this heat on those living in significantly hoarded environments. Guidance about these sweltering days generally is to avoid peak periods outdoors (stay home), hydrate…for a person who hoards neither may be possible – easily – or at all.
So, I’m asking for advice from those we serve… what do you do to keep safe during hot days? We will publish the answers (with consent) in the next newsletter. Please send your tips and thoughts to us. These may be helpful to others.
We look forward to hearing from you. Until then… “always take the weather with you… everywhere you go…”
– Megan
Community Kitchen
Do you want to learn new skills and improve your confidence? Share stories and recipes with people in your community? Get a better understanding of healthy food habits?
One of our HUK Team Members is running a Community Kitchen project for their dissertation and is looking to recruit participants.
The session is hosted in the Likewise Community Centre in Camden, from 9am-1pm on the 3rd of July, or 11am-3pm on the 8th of July.
Sponsored by UCL Grand Challenges of intercultural understanding fund. UCL Research Ethics Committee Approval ID Number: 2949.
Fire Risk Reduction
“At the heart of this work is the principle of “hoarding safely,” which means working alongside people to make targeted small changes to achieve meaningful risk reduction.“
Andy Fitt and the other members of the Community Fire Safety Prevention Team at the Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service have joined forces with HUK and Adult Social Care to design a new, more compassionate approach to risk reduction in the homes of people with hoarding behaviours.
5 minute read
Proudly promoting Choice and Control
HoardingUK was invited to exhibit at the Orchard OCD International Scientific Conference from the 4th-5th of June.
Megan (founder and chair of HUK) promoted our work alongside leading researchers, clinicians, people with lived experience, early-career scientists, industry leaders and policymakers; proudly spreading the word about the patient-centred work we do.
HoardingUK are committed to helping build a future for inclusive mental health science, and conferences like these are instrumental in making our vision a reality.
Burnout as a Failure of Holding
Dr. Richard Duggins
Consultant Psychiatrist, Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist & Associate Medical Director – Leadership & Culture
Make meaningful steps towards thriving and not just surviving in the workplace.
“It’s our first meeting, Peter cannot hold my gaze because of his shame, and quietly laments “What’s wrong with me?”.
Peter is sitting across from me exhausted, demoralised and unsure of how he’s got there. The sense of failure is profound, and yet it is misplaced…
This empowering conference asks viewers to examine, understand and remove the shame that is so closely tied to burnout.”
80 minute watch (including break)
“It feels like some of the adventures are only just starting now.”
I’m Laura Horton, a Plymouth based writer. My play about the hoarding behaviours of a woman in her thirties, titled ‘Breathless‘, won a Fringe First Award in 2022 and New York Times Critic’s Pick following runs in Soho and Off-Broadway.
On May 6th, 2025, I started a solo walk of the South West Coast Path. 630 miles from Minehead to Poole. I have wanted to write something about it and what it meant to me, but I wasn’t sure what form it should take. It feels like a bit a dream now. I kept a diary on the walk, it’s been sitting under a pile of books. I recently dug it out and decided to write some reflections on the journey and also include those entries as I wrote them, re-living my adventure each morning as I type them up and release them on Substack.
One of the major reasons for the walk was the appeal of hiking with as few possessions as I could and physically moving forwards and on to different places each day. I fundraised for Hoarding UK, wanting to talk to people on the journey about the charity and shine a light on hoarding for those that don’t understand it. Since I’ve finished the journey, I’ve also been working on an auto-fiction about hoarding behaviours and I really hope I can find a home for it. Walking definitely opened my brain up to so many new ideas and creative endeavours. It feels like some of the adventures are only just starting now.
Your Online Training & Communities
Choice and Control in Hoarding Behaviour Training
Professionals who attend this workshop will have the opportunity to learn more about approaches to supporting people with hoarding behaviours. This training deals with balancing outside intervention with maintaining an individual’s choice and control.
Motivational Interviewing Training
Attendees will explore the key components to Motivational Interviewing techniques, work through case studies and discover ways that can facilitate behavioural changes for people who hoard.
Join us for an inspiring Motivational Interviewing Open Day on Thursday, 25th September, from 10:00-16:30, and enhance your skills!
Place in the Space Support Group
These monthly psychological and practical support sessions offer a safe space to anyone who hoards who wants to work on managing their space and wellbeing. Please consider joining, no one is required at any point in these sessions to let go of any item explored.
Family, Friends and Others Support Groups
At the request of many, HUK has launched an online support group for family, friends and others who are not professionals to get support, then in turn better support people who hoard. For more information about the impact we’re making, read about here in this Guardian article.
User Involvement Group Meetings
This event is intended for HoardingUK users, including people who have utilised our services or attended our training courses.
If you are a user and have suggestions about how we can improve our services, we encourage you to join us here and give your valued feedback.
HUK Helpline
Sign up for 27 45-minute sessions on a weekly, fortnightly and then monthly basis through our Helpline. We offer the service free of charge, but are asking people to make a donation of any amount to support our important work.
Michaela
Reviewing Choice and Control in Hoarding Behaviour
Very informative, interactive course. Opportunities to network with professionals in similar roles to information share too.”