AUSTIN — Many people struggle to keep their home clean, but for some, it's a much more serious problem. Two Austin businesses are helping a local family deal with an issue that's about a lot more than just clutter.
Hoarding is a mental health disorder that can lead to substantial distress and problems functioning. The American Psychiatric Association describes this as persistent difficulty to get rid of or part with possessions, leading to clutter that disrupts someone's ability to use their living or work spaces.
Hoarding isn't simply collecting of specific items. People with this disorder are usually holding onto random items that often times connects to them on an emotional level or they think they will need in the future. Some also feel safer with these things around them.
Latrice Anderson moved to Austin at an early age and has lived here beyond her stint serving in the military. She now lives in Austin with her two adult children, Camilla and Perry III. However, when she moved into her first ever owned house in Austin, a problem Anderson has dealt with for quite some time came back into her life.
"I started really hard trying to keep everything up because I was so excited to have my own house," said Anderson. "This was the first house I've ever had."
Anderson is a hoarder. It's something she even remembers being an issue when she was serving in the military.
"They would inspect our rooms, and I would have clutter everywhere," said Anderson. "I would just take all the clutter out and put it in my car, so everything looked pristine when they came in and did the inspection. I got good at hiding it."
As much as Anderson would try to fight the issue at different points in her life, it always seemed to be a losing battle. When her now adult son and daughter were young, bed bugs started building up in the house. At one point, Anderson found herself hospitalized. During this time, the state even took away her children and put them into foster care because of the mess.
"Once it overtakes you, you feel like you're drowning," said Anderson. "I'm unable to be organized on my own. I try so hard, but I'm not a very organized person."
Once Anderson got out of the hospital, she gained the motivation to fix her issue. Things did start to get better, until about five years ago.
"I noticed it's back up on me, and I'm frightened," said Anderson. "I said, 'I have to do something about this.'"
Anderson decided to take a different approach this time, which was one she had never taken before. She made one of the most difficult decisions of her life by asking for help.
Anderson got in touch with Steri-Clean, a biohazard remediation company in Austin that provided the type of assistance that Anderson had been afraid to ask for.
"I was like, 'Well it's either just give up or find the strength to keep going,'" said Anderson. "So I chose to keep going and find some help somehow."
Stephanie Gabler owns Steri-Clean and took a house visit to see what her company would potentially be dealing with at Anderson's home. However, it wasn't the house that left a lasting impression.
"I could hear in her voice that she was ready," said Gabler. She was resolved to get this taken care of. Before even leaving the house, we knew that there was no way we were going to not help her."
Unfortunately for Anderson, this type of help was going to be extensive and expensive. Durrell Cammack is one of Steri-Clean's technicians and said this would easily be a two-day job with how much clutter their team would need to go through.
"Letting things go and knowing what to let go and when to let go," said Cammack. "You throw this away and keep this. You throw this away and keep that."
With a price that was out of Anderson's budget, Gabler decided to make this job that would likely cost thousands of dollars, cost Anderson nothing.
"If you're asking me for help, I'm going to give you a caring ear and a caring shoulder," said Gabler. "I'm going to walk you through the process, but I'm going to hold you accountable for the goals that you told me that you set."
Gabler said she is running a business and works towards providing quality service at a price that helps her company be profitable. However, with Anderson, she said the only thing that mattered was helping get her on the right path.
"She cares for others before she cares for herself," said Gabler. "She did it while serving her country, and she's doing it while being a mother. She's just the sweetest person, and she has a goal she wants to reach but she's limited. We're not. We have resources. We've got the manpower. We've got the determination."
Along with Gabler and her Steri-Clean team, ABC Home and Commercial Services also decided to help by mitigating her bed bugs. Alan Brown is the entomologist for ABC in Austin, dealing with all types of insect issues in the area. He said it's a problem often times associated with hoarders.
"If you're in a situation with excessive clutter, it can get out of hand very quickly," said Brown. "It can be very hard to control because of the amount of stuff in the house. We run into a number of situations when there's this clutter, especially if folks are possibly picking things up off the street or buying things at garage sales."
Brown brought in gear to heat up the house all the way to 140 degrees in order to get rid of the bed bugs. Just like Steri-Clean, Brown's ABC team decided to provide this service for free.
"We're happy to help in this situation and hope to get this house clean," said Brown.
Gabler also made it clear this wasn't just be a two-day job.
"When we finish this two-day job, my relationship with Latrice won't end, just like any of my clients," said Gabler. "Within a couple of weeks, I'll follow up. A month later, I'll follow up. I know in my heart, I've formed a relationship with Latrice where I'm going to check on her often."