A year ago police -- and the public -- learned about a family that lived a quiet but cluttered life when two people died.

Kathy Sansoin, her husband, and her mother were all living in Longueuil in a house that had no heat. when the cold of winter became too much.

Doctors were not able to save the lives of Sansoin's husband and mother, but now she needs help of a different kind.

Sansoin is a hoarder.

Her home filled with the detritus of half a century's living that she is unable to get rid of.

Now she's been locked out of her house until the mess, the mould, and the vermin are removed.

"I'm not even a criminal and I'm being treated like one," said Sansoin, who at 66 years old has lived in her home for nearly 50 years.


Neighbours had no idea

Pat Harris and Jean-Paul Lamy have lived next door for three decades, but nothing prepared them for the January night when Sansoin called them, asking for help.

"I'd never seen anything like that in my life," said Harris. "I stepped in the front door and well, you couldn't go any further really."

"You looked in the living room and you didn't see furniture, you just saw stuff piled two-thirds of the way up the walls.

"I had no idea these people were living without heat in there," said Harris.

That night Michael Ashworth, 72, Sansoin's husband, was pronounced dead.

82-year-old Nina Zakharchuk, her mother, died soon after.

"The last ten years they withdrew more and more from daily life," said Lamy.

"You'd go through weeks and weeks of beautiful summer weather when everyone's outdoors and you'd never see these people," said Harris.


Sansoin's call for help

Sansoin refused to talk to reporters last winter, but eight months after the deaths of her husband and mother, Sansoin called CTV Montreal asking for help.

As soon as city officials learned about the condition of the home, Sansoin was ordered to clean up the mess.

For several months, she was only allowed inside her house during the day in order to clean, and she was not allowed to sleep in a home that is judged unfit for human habitation.

But one evening in May, Sansoin was found in her home watching TV, which convinced the city of Longueuil to change the locks.

Ever since she has slept at her cottage, in women's shelters, even in her car.

"I get to weeks where I just completely give up, because I don't know where to go. I don't know what to do," said Sansoin.


Dozens of cases each year

Experts on hoarding say those with the mental illness often live in horrible conditions, and rarely seek help.

They also say the condition is much more common than generally realized because those afflicted are experts at hiding the problem.

In October, a 100-year-old woman in St. Eustache was forced from her home.

Workers cleaned it up, wearing masks because of the garbage and cat excrement that were everywhere.

Montreal firefighters say they run into 25 cases of hoarding every year.

They are forced to act when blocked doorways, flammable materials, and vermin turn homes into a danger to others.

Fire prevention chief Marcel Deschamps says getting the hoarder to see the problem is the first step.

"We have to first evaluate the person psychologically and physically to see where they stand. and then try to get some help," said Deschamps. .

He tells crews to treat hoarders with compassion, "so that the person feels we're helping them."


Steps to take

Cities and fire departments will not hesitate to move in when a hoarder is discovered.

"If it's to get them out of a dangerous situation, definitely," said Deschamps.

A city can lock the owner or tenant out of their home and force them to live elsewhere if they don't clean up within a reasonable amount of time.

But many hoarders cannot accept that living in a mound of filth is a problem, and get extremely upset at the notion that their precious possessions are trash.

"What about me? As a senior. what are my rights? My house is paid for, my taxes are all up to date," said Sansoin.

Even now, Sansoin is still drawn to her home, and wondering why she is not getting help.

"They're giving me fines instead of trying to find ways to help me. They know I'm sick but they don't care. They know I'm alone but they don't care."


On Wednesday on CTV Montreal at 12 and 6 p.m., reporter Caroline Van Vlaardingen goes inside Kathy Sansoin's home for a first-hand look at how she lived, and tries to get her the help she clearly needs