Laverne Williams (Photo provided)
Sparta. People who have a tendency to hoard can accumulate so much “stuff” it overwhelms their lives, and family members and friends often do more harm than good in their attempts to help. The New Jersey and Sussex County affiliates of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) want to help individuals and families better understand what is commonly known as hoarding disorder. From 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Oct. 7, NAMI New Jersey and NAMI Sussex, in collaboration with the Mental Health Association in New Jersey, will present a free online webinar, “Too Much Stuff,” with guest presenter Laverne Williams. She is a certified social worker with many years of experience in the treatment of hoarding disorder and in facilitating support groups for those seeking to overcome their tendencies to hoard. Williams will discuss common beliefs around hoarding disorder, best practices to support someone with a tendency to hoard, and the financial and emotional costs to individuals, families, and the community when hoarding gets out of control. She will provide tools to assess the risk for hoarding disorder, as well as a case study practice for gaining entry into a home with “too much stuff.” Her talk will stress the need for switching language used in connection with the disorder. The webinar will use Zoom as its online platform and will include an opportunity for questions and answers with the audience. To register, visit naminj.org/webinars.