A set of guidelines has been developed to help front line staff from agencies and service providers improve the situation of people living in severe domestic squalor.
The Director General of the NSW Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care (DADHC), Brendan O’Reilly, said that this was part of the NSW Government’s efforts to address the issue of homelessness and people at risk of homelessness.
“Our frontline staff can sometimes be the only one to enter a person’s house on a regular basis,” Mr. O’Reilly said.
“That is why it is important they know what to look out for and how to respond when they find evidence that someone is at risk.
“A wide variety of government and non government service providers come into contact with, or receive referrals regarding people living in severe domestic squalor.
“Many of these people are vulnerable and suffer from conditions such as dementia, alcohol related brain damage or mental disorders such as schizophrenia and depression.
“They often live in conditions of extreme household uncleanliness or hoarding, where the accumulation of material has led to the living environment being unclean, unsanitary, and dangerous or posing a fire risk.”
Mr. O’Reilly said that the guidelines were providing frontline staff with a practical, step by step guide on how to approach these situations, their responsibilities and the referral and intervention options that are available to them.
He said that organisations which would benefit from the guidelines included government agencies, local councils, health services, welfare and community care agencies, the Police and the Fire Brigade.
“The guidelines are being widely distributed to relevant agencies and it is planned to have them incorporated into appropriate agency-based training and induction programs.