Mr Chng, 26, took this video as he carefully made his way up the stairs to his mother’s second-floor Chinatown home. There is barely enough space for him to walk, a narrow path on the stairs is flanked on both sides by mounds of stuff. To the right are boxes stacked shoulder height or higher against a wall. To the left, paper bags and plastic bags packed with unidentified objects are strewn, alongside an assortment of items seemingly picked up from the trash. Mr Chng can walk no further than the doorway of the room without having to step on his mother’s belongings. None of this is unfamiliar to the part-time customer service officer. These were the sort of living conditions that forced the family to move multiple times during his childhood and was what ultimately drove him away from home at 16. His mother, housewife Madam Lim, 63, has a hoarding disorder. The challenges faced by caregivers and social service providers when dealing with hoarding behaviour was recently highlighted by researchers from IMH in a new study.... Continue Reading