Emily Kil is co-owner of Eco Bear, a leading biohazard remediation company in Southern California. An experienced entrepreneur, Emily assisted in founding Eco Bear as a means of combining her business experience with her desire to provide assistance to people facing challenging circumstances. Emily regularly writes about her first-hand experiences providing services such as biohazard cleanup, suicide cleanup, crime scene cleanup, unattended death cleanup, infectious disease disinfection, and other types of difficult remediations in homes and businesses.

filthy bedroom with biohazards

Rating and Evaluating the Disorganization Level of a Residence: Clutter to Hoarding

The Institute for Challenging Disorganization, or ICD, created the Clutter-Hoarding Scale to be used as a tool to assess residential environments in regard to the level or extent of hoarding that may exist in the premises. The Clutter-Hoarding Scale is designed for residential assessments only. Five Levels of the Clutter-Hoarding Scale The Clutter-Hoarding Scale is organized into…

hoarder kitchen

Mastering Healthy Communication With a Chronically Disorganized Individual

If you desire to assist a chronically disorganized person in effecting change, you must understand that direct and honest communication between that individual and yourself is fundamental. In this regard, there are some specific communication strategies that work well when dealing with and supporting a chronically disorganized person. In addition, in order to maintain proper, effective…

What Is It like Living in a Homeless Shelter?

Life in a homeless shelter does depend on what specific location a person lands in. With that noted, there are many common factors associated with living in a homeless shelter, common elements that frequently are found at these types of facilities. Check-In Time at a Typical Homeless Shelter Most homeless shelters maintain a specific check-in time for individuals…

How Do Homeless People Survive?

Los Angeles is the least affordable rental market in the United States, according to the Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies. The homeless rate in California is the highest of any state in the union, with a majority of those people living in Los Angeles County and elsewhere in Southern California. With so many…

Is Being Homeless a Choice?

The debate about the causes of homelessness in Los Angeles and elsewhere in the United States includes a contention by some people that part of the homeless population is on the streets by choice. There are some key facts that need to be considered when it comes to analyzing whether being homeless is a choice,…

Union Rescue Mission Interview: The Hurricane of Homelessness in Los Angeles Requires a Massive Emergency Response

Rev. Andy J. Bales, the Chief Executive Officer of the Union Rescue Mission, unequivocally maintains that the manner in which Los Angelinos, and people across the United States, respond to the issues surrounding homelessness at this juncture in time is not sufficient. Bales describes homelessness as “a disaster of epic proportions.” Bales makes clear that…

How to Remove Decomposition Odors

Without exception, decomposition odors are some of the most horrifically foul smells imaginable. Decomposition odors can be so overpowering that they can cause a person to wretch. Decomposition odors can arise when dies an unattended death and his or her remains are not immediately discovered. The decomposition process commences the minute a person dies. Overview…

Suicide Rates in Los Angeles

Headlines from the Los Angeles Times and other media outlets in Southern California convey the grim reality that suicide impacts the lives of many different types of people. Man Throws Wife to Street, Kills Self Slaying Suspect Barricades Self, Commits Suicide Man, 35, Dies in Leap From Downtown Courthouse Actor Jerry Van Dyke’s Daughter Found Hanged Studio…

How Common is Hoarding?

Hoarding is defined as a mental health disorder, according to the world-renowned Mayo Clinic. Hoarding is exemplified by persistent difficulty in discarding or parting with possessions. A hoarder has some powerful perceived need to maintain possession of these items. Indeed, a hoarder experiences profound distress when thinking about parting with possessions. Ultimately, excessive accumulation of…