Owner of Pittsburgh-area hoarding home gets help from junk removal company
PLUM BOROUGH, Pa. (KDKA) -- Help is on the way to Plum Borough today where a hoarding situation has been unfolding at a problematic property.
Neighbors are grateful they won't have to deal with the mess much longer along Shelbourne Drive and they're happy the homeowner is going to get some help, too.
Junk of all shapes and sizes has been spilling out of the home and into the driveway and yard for more than a year and neighbors say it's gotten way out of hand. Neighbors exhausted options of trying to get the situation taken care of. The Plum mayor says he tried fines, code enforcement and police, but after our reporting, G.I. Haul stepped in and wanted to remove it all at no cost.
The owner of the home, Janice Stemler, has finally agreed to accept help cleaning up. Stemler is a retired teacher who said she sells the items.
Plum Mayor Harry Schlegel called Resolve Crisis Services for help on Wednesday morning to assist, and a team responded. Resolve Crisis Services is the crisis center for Allegheny County. It is a partnership between UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital and the county.
KDKA-TV's reporting got the attention of the owner of G.I. Haul Junk and Waste Removal, who offered to help for free if Stemler agreed.
"I thought in my head, this is a no-brainer, we can help, we can solve this problem. We do this all day, every day," G.I. Haul co-owner Mike McCloskey said.
When the trucks arrived, Stemler was not there, so they had to wait for her to come home before taking her belongings. After waiting an hour and neighbors talking her through the process, crews began taking away the years of clutter that swallowed up her property.
"I'm very, very proud of Jan for taking this step because I know how upsetting this is for her. She is being very brave to take this step," neighbor Debbie Wilson said.
With the cleanup fixing what had become an eyesore, the neighborhood knows this isn't the solution to the problem. Neighbors say the Department of Aging along with Adult Protective Services have visited Stemler in the last few days.
"So I really think that she finally knows that, 'Hey, we're your neighbors. We want to help you.' If we keep that positive relationship going, I think she'll be receptive too," another neighbor told KDKA-TV.
Neighbors are hoping this step is the first step in getting that help their neighbor needs and want to keep offering their support.
