An Evanston city committee postponed action Monday night on the award of funding for a social service agency to provide treatment services for people with compulsive hoarding disorders.
The delay came as members of the Human Services Committee tried to sort out whether an existing arrangement the city has with Presence Behavioral Health is sufficient to deal with the hoarding issue.
The Mental Health Board had recommended also awarding $30,000 to Trilogy Inc. to respond to hoarding problems, but city staff recommended against that award, citing the Presence deal and a late change in the substance of the Trilogy proposal.
Sandi Johnson, chair of the city’s Mental Health Board, said the board felt there was substantial need for the service, saying there were several cases of hoarding just in hear neighborhood in north Evanston, and that it takes a lot of effort to help people overcome a hoarding habit.
On a motion of Alderman Brian Miller, 9th Ward, the committee voted to approve the other 16 funding requests from local social service agencies, totalling $737,000, but revisit the Trilogy funding issue at its December meeting.