Rescuers: Working Collaboratively with Other Professionals

Kristin Bergfeld, BERGFELD’s Estate Clearance Service

It is a basic instinct. We all are rescuers of people we care about. It is the best of the primitive mind at work. And, it takes talent. The brilliance of NAPO and NSGCD is in taking this fundamental human response and matching it with sophisticated skills of all kinds, support tools and professional structure.

For this article, I focus on the work we do for clients whose advanced clutter, chronic disorganization, or 'Levels III, IV, or V' hoarding on the NSGCD Clutter Hoarding Scale, put them, their families, neighbors, and even their homes at risk. But, the principles are the same for clients needing less radical rescuing.

We are all connected to each other and to our environments, like it or not. The way our clients live affects their well being, as well as that of their families, neighbors, and homes. Our efforts to help them work best when we respond to and collaborate with these related factors. Our primary responsibility is to our clients. Simultaneously, we are obligated to work with other factors and people affected by or participating in our clients’ lives.

I'll first address collaborating with aspects of the larger framework within which we work. These are the regulations, procedures, and practicalities that apply on the federal, state and city level and with which we need to comply. Next, I’ll outline collaborating with services and parties for the specific client.

When preparing to work with a client, start with researching and complying with the federal, state and city regulations. These include:

1. Labor and employment – If you hire others or work with subcontractors, check out your statutory obligations for Workers' Compensation, Disability, and Unemployment Insurance (both federal and state). Increasingly, building managers, coops and condos require proof of compliance with these before allowing service businesses to work.
2. Liability and Business Insurance – Having a customary policy of at least $1 million per occurrence, $2 million "General Aggregate" coverage is not expensive. Increasingly, professional services are required to provide “Certificates of Liability Insurance” naming the client and building as "Additional Insured" and management as "Certificate Holder."
3. Recycling, disposing of discards and private medical waste – Virtually every municipality has statutory regulations for getting rid of stuff. In some areas, local regulations supersede those on the state level. In NYC, medical supplies and waste from one’s private home are subject to the same strict regulations as "institutional" medical waste from providers such as hospitals. If your client uses needles ("sharps"), these cannot be tossed out with regular trash. To learn about these regulations, go to this article on the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, or to the website of the NYC Department of Sanitation.
4. General business coordination – Collaborate with building owners, managers, agents for their in-house rules and schedules for professionals working on their premises. These include hours for outside business operation, use of elevators, insurance requirements, and house rules. When you interview a client, ask them to introduce you to the people in charge of the building. Do this as your standard business operating procedure, and in a amnner that does not compromise your client’s privacy in any way.

A key to collaborating with other parties is to see things from everyone’s point of view, and to incorporate often conflicting agendas into your contract and service plan. A good source for general information on how Coops and Condos operate is The Council of New York Cooperatives and Condominiums or The Real Estate Board of New York.

Caring for our clients is strengthened by collaborating with others (friends, family, legal and health care aides, and building management) who are already connected to our clients, or potentially could assist. NAPO and NSGCD professionals need to be skilled at interviewing prospective clients with sensitivity and empathy, yet soliciting all the useful objective information possible. As appropriate, ask clients if they can share personal information with you about other people with whom they are connected, as well as their MD, counselors or other who they view as their supporters. And, listen, listen and listen. Talk together about the potential benefits of collaborating with these parties for a specified purpose while not compromising privacy. Ask if you can do some outreach for or with the client. It is essential that you do this with the client’s consent. Ask about including others in some way to support the client. If the client has gaps in these relationships, you might want to research available resources and explore connecting with them.

For counseling, therapy or other forms of psychological support, look through the following sources: Attention Deficit Disorder Association, NY State Psychological Association, and NY State Psychiatric Association. Bear in mind that you should not contact a counselor on behalf of the client without the client's requesting that you do this. The counselor will usually not be able to participate unless the client actually makes the call.

If a legal appraisal of a client's personal property is needed, get an independent, certified appraiser from Appraisers Association of America (AAA) or American Society of Appraisers (ASA). It is usually a conflict of interest for an auction house to have their own appraiser valuate property while also offering to purchase items.

If you believe a client has suffered abuse or self neglect, research resources through National Center on Elder Abuse. If a client needs to have repairs done, appliances removed or installed, electrical or plumbing work done, use the licensed contractors already employed by the building. This reduces risk and liability and also generates goodwill between you, your client, and the building owners.

One of the shining characteristics of NAPO and NSGCD members is our desire to make a positive and lasting difference in someone's life. Because we are caring and dedicated professionals, we can readily envision wide-ranging projects and reorganization plans that would make our clients’ lives easier, more organized, and enhance their well being. We know a lot and we know what we are doing. But sometimes our enthusiasm may make us want to do more than might be needed. I often remind myself to leave my 'ego' out and just focus on what must be completed.

Collaborating with others takes more work. It requires research and might mean rethinking your service plan. But, it is, I believe, essential, and more realistic. It better reflects the community in which we all live.