Hey guys. I know a lot of you probably may not remember me, but this community was what kept me going for many years. Looking back on my old posts, I felt very nostalgic and wanted to give an update: the house I knew, and the only home I’d ever known growing up ended up being condemned.

It was a long time coming, and while it hurts to know that my childhood home will only exist in pictures of better days and my memories, I’m happy that it’s gone. You may be wondering what may have happened given how positively things were going according to my old posts. And unfortunately my Dad fell hard into addiction, so badly that both my brother and I had to leave to maintain our safety.

I don’t bring this up to drum up sympathy, or in an attempt to bring attention to myself, but to bring attention to how my grandmother was allowed to slip through the cracks of the system. You see, eventually my brother and I ended up being the only ones that cleaned the house. My Dad started feeding/chasing his habit(s) full time and things were manageable while we were there. But when things got really bad, and we had to leave in late 2020, adult protective services let her live in a house far beyond disrepair and deplorable conditions for 3 years as our father’s (her son’s) hoarding reached a new level of bad. So bad that eventually the entire house was condemned due to how bad it got.

The good news is that my Grandmother was placed into an elderly care facility where she has constant care and daily cleaning services for her room. But the flip side of the coin is that my father, who had begun allowing strangers to stay in the house with him, is now unhoused as he could no longer squat in the house. I know this story isn’t really happy. It’s heartbreaking and upsetting, but I wanted to bring it up to thank you guys for all your help and support and remind you just as you reminded me that no matter how bad the hoarding can get, it isn’t our job nor responsibility as the family, friends, and loved ones of hoarders to stick around and try and fix the problem. I put myself first, my brother put himself first, and we contacted the appropriate people and organizations to get things taken care of before we left.

Things don’t always work out well, or even work out at all. But sometimes you have to leave it behind to keep yourself safe and sane. In the worst case scenarios, the hoard wins. You lose an abode and the memories within it. But please, always remember that what makes a house a home is the people that are in it. You can start anew with a clean slate.