The Fairfax County Hoarding Task Force was created in 1998, as the first of its kind in the United States, in response to medical and fire emergencies occurring in hoarded structures, where occupants could not be removed quickly. The idea was born as a way to combine the many resources within county agencies to provide a coordinated response to residential hoarding when it threatened life, safety, and property, as well as preventing deaths due to hoarding.
The Task Force combined the resources of code enforcement, first responders, medical and mental health professionals, social services providers, attorneys and private business owners. Through regular meetings, the group balanced the rights of the individual against the safety of the community in developing strategies to ensure consistency, professionalism, and effectiveness when providing resources and assistance in hoarding cases.
In 2010, in part due to the success of the Hoarding Task Force, Fairfax County combined its code enforcement efforts and created the Department of Code Compliance (DCC). Like the Hoarding Task Force, DCC was designed to accommodate a multi-enforcement code response, while taking on the lead role in combating hoarding issues around the county. For this reason, in 2012, the Hoarding Task force was officially renamed the Hoarding Committee as it was no longer necessary to mobilize separate agencies. Today, the Fairfax County Hoarding Committee continues to build strong alliances with DCC, other county agencies, and surrounding jurisdictions to strengthen Fairfax’s response to hoarding and be of assistance to other jurisdictions.
Because hoarding is a complex behavioral problem that creates a dangerous living situation to the individual(s) involved, it often requires a multi-faceted response. Neglect or self-neglect associated with the elderly, children, or animals may require emergency interventions; while structures with overloaded support systems could pose immediate dangers to the occupants, first responders and the community.