With a population of just under 65,000, Laguna Niguel was California’s first master-planned community. The city is nearly entirely composed of residential properties. Laguna Niguel serves as a bedroom community for work centers located elsewhere in Orange County.

As a master-planned community, Laguna Niguel is well put together. This has resulted in a significant percentage of working families calling Laguna Niguel home. With that noted, throughout the course of any given year, people throughout the community are identified as having hoarding disorder.

Overview Hoarding

Hoarding disorder is described as a persistent difficulty in discarding with possessions. This difficulty exists because of a perceived need to save these items. This can include items that hav absolutely no value whatsoever.

A person diagnosed with hoarding disorder will experience significant, even overwhelming, distress at the thought of getting rid of items he or she has hoarded over time.

As a result, items accumulate over time. As the accumulation of items increases, there becomes less livable or usable with a residence.

Hoarding is classified from mild to severe. In a mild case, hoarding doesn’t have much impact on a hoarder’s life. As hoarding becomes more severe, it ends up having a profound impact on a hoarder’s life.

The typical Laguna Niguel hoarder likely does not believe that he or she has a problem. This makes convincing a hoarder of the need to take action regarding his or her living situation, let alone to obtain professional mental health assistance, very challenging.

Hoarding in Laguna Niguel and Senior Citizens

While adults of any age theoretically can become afflicted with hoarding disorder, the condition is more prevalent among older people. About three cases of adults living in hazardous conditions because of hoarding are reported weekly in cities across Orange County, including Laguna Niguel. A considerable percentage of these referrals involve senior citizens.

The Orange County Task Force on Hoarding has taken more aggressive steps to address hoarding among the elderly in Laguna Niguel and elsewhere. The task force has provided mechanisms through which residents of Laguna Niguel who believe a neighbor is hoarding can make a report of the suspected situation to the local offices of Laguna Niguel Fire Authority or the Laguna Niguel Code Enforcement Office. These two agencies can be reached online at the links provided or through their brick and mortar world offices.

A trio of fire stations are located in Laguna Niguel at:

23600 Pacific Island Drive
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
(949) 249-3085

24241 Avila Road
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
(949) 831-3232

31461 Golden Lantern
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
(949) 249-9681

Laguna Niguel Code Enforcement Office is located at:

30111 Crown Valley Parkway
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
(949) 362-4300

Although the city is making a special effort to focus on senior citizens with hoarding disorder, the Laguna Niguel Fire Authority and Laguna Niguel Code Enforcement Office are available to take reports about hoarding issues involving a resident of the city of any age.

Risk Factors for Hoarding

Experts in the realm of treating people with hoarding disorder identify three primary risk factors associated with a person becoming a hoarder. These are:

Personality: Research suggests that some people have a personality or temperament that renders them more apt to develop hoarding disorder. These are people who are indecisive, suffer an anxiety condition, or are depressed.

Family history: Research also reveals that there is a strong connection between having a family member with hoarding disorder and the development of that condition in another individual.

Stressful life events: Some people end up developing hoarding disorder in the aftermath of a stressful life event. These are individuals that have had difficulty coming to terms or coping with the death of a loved one, divorce, or some other traumatic event.

Laguna Niguel Counseling and Therapy Services

There are mental health professionals in Laguna Niguel that provide services to individuals afflicted with hoarder disorder. These include:

Laguna Behavioral
28281 Crown Valley Parkway, Suite 140
Laguna Niguel, California 92677
(949) 407-5470

Mother Warrior Counseling
27601 Forbes Rd, Suite 49
Laguna Niguel, California 92677
(949) 536-9424

Flatirons Counseling Services, PLLC
Laguna Niguel, California 92677
(714) 784-5155

Hoarder Property Cleanup in Laguna Niguel

In addition to mental health services for an individual with hoarding disorder, the assistance of a hoarder property cleanup professional can be invaluable. A hoarder property cleanup professional has the experienced, equipment, and associated tools and resources necessary to safely and comprehensively remediate a hoarding situation.

This includes addressing the presence of dangerous biohazards that can be present in a severe hoarding situation. For example, a severe hoarding situation can result in rat infestation. Rat droppings can contain dangerous and even life-threatening pathogens.

Image Courtesy of Shadwwulf at English.