Hoarding task force tied up with encampments, shelter issues: report

A city task force set up to triage people who need help to overcome hoarding has been constrained by privacy concerns and staff diversions to other jobs.

The hoarding and collecting behaviours task force is making fewer referrals. It won’t gain the capacity to respond to hoarding concerns from the public, something it originally aimed to provide but has not done so far, says a new Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service report.

“There is not enough funding for city staff to assess and review hoarding referrals (from the public) appropriately at current funding levels,” the report notes.

The report does not ask city council to take any specific action, such as providing additional funding or staff.

WFPS Chief Christian Schmidt said the task force always operated within the service’s existing staff and budget, but staff time was diverted to other pressing issues over the last two years.

“The task force is still operating but, basically, it’s being run out of the community risk reduction area here at (Winnipeg) Fire Paramedic Service,” said Schmidt.

He said just one assistant chief and one front-line worker now include the task force among their duties.

“There (are) limited resources,” said Schmidt.

Hoarding is a psychological disorder that can result in poor sanitation and fire hazards. It can also impede the ability of emergency personnel to enter a home, according to sources such as the Mayo Clinic and Anxiety Canada.

The task force was designed to have the city’s community development crisis response staff (who are trained in social work) assess hoarding referrals, which could then trigger a response from their team, community paramedics, the Canadian Mental Health Association, Winnipeg Regional Health Authority or A&O: Support Services for Older Adults Inc.

In 2023, 27 cases of potential hoarding were referred through the triage program. That number dropped to nine “awaiting assessment” throughout 2024 and one “awaiting assessment” this year so far, the WFPS report notes.

The city’s community risk reduction officer devoted 18.5 hours to the task in 2023, when municipal community crisis workers spent 184.5 hours on it, which dropped to just 20 hours of total staff time in 2024 and 10 hours in 2025, the report notes.

Schmidt said workers who performed task force duties were largely diverted to respond to encampments, support local housing programs and help people find shelter after they were displaced by large fires. The chief said he did not know the number of staff that originally worked on the hoarding triage system.

He said the task force will continue and its number of referrals did not decrease solely due to the staffing level.

The city also learned there were legal and privacy concerns about sharing patient information.

Schmidt said the government has been working on a formal agreement with its task force partners to address the privacy issues since November 2023, said Schmidt.

“We’ve got to make sure we’re sharing (information) we can and only sharing what we can,” he said.

That process stalled progress, leading the group to stop holding meetings, the report notes.

The WFPS chief stressed the public can report concerns about hoarding to Manitoba’s 211 service, a number designed to help people connect to health and social services.

Coun. Vivian Santos, chairwoman of council’s community services committee, said WFPS staff are stretched thin dealing with many life and safety issues, which affected the task force.

“Because there’s no increase in staffing or community crisis workers in Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service, it’s very challenging to go out and attend the referrals,” said Santos.

The councillor said ensuring an information sharing agreement is reached with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and Shared Health is a key step to ensuring the task force is effective. She said those agencies are better suited to respond to mental health concerns than the city government.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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