Public Officials

Sooner or later Public Officials need to work with citizens who maintain their homes differently than their neighbors would prefer. This could be a visit from Child Protective Services or Adult Protective Services. It could be Animal Control, Fire Marshals or Police Officers. Sometimes you’re there to help them, sometimes you’re there to ask their assistance. If you want things to go well you need to be prepared to handle the attitude and the environment.

Maria has many years of experience working with clients from the slightly disorganized to those living in severely hoarded homes. She and her team have worked with public officials to help clients bring their homes into code compliance, to make their homes safe for those being released from the hospital, and simply to accommodate the physical changes that accompany aging and infirmity.

Maria has taught at the Fairfax County Criminal Justice Academy, lectured at the FBI in Quantico, and given presentations to various government agencies in several jurisdictions. She has presented to both regional and international Crisis Intervention Team Conferences. She conducted a class for the Institute for Challenging Disorganization on how professional organizers should write official reports for government agencies (ADM-560), available to members through their Teleclass Vault. Now she has updated her book on Hoarding for Law Enforcement and Other Public Officials.

If your department needs a crash course on hoarding, contact us. We can schedule Maria to give a quick introduction (lunch and learn) or a more in depth (up to multi-day) class as needed. If you’re interacting with a citizen who needs our help, contact us. We’ll be happy to consult with you and/or work with the client.