Hoarding: Buried Alive

Bennie, of San Francisco, and Ronda, of Austin, Texas, both have houses full of stuff and lives filled with emptiness. Decades of compulsive hoarding has driven loved ones away. If they don't get help soon, their hopes for happiness may remain buried amid their possessions.

When Child Protection Services removes Karen's children from her home, she is given just 48 hours to clean up or risks losing custody of her kids permanently.

Deborah and Mary both started hoarding in the wake of a personal tragedy. Ever since Deborah killed her drug-addicted boyfriend in self-defense, she and her son have lived amid growing piles of trash and unused possessions in their rural West Virginia farmhouse. And Mary bought her Yulee, Florida home when it was brand new. But that was five years ago, and now, the house is so packed and filthy that it has become infested with Stinkbugs and is now home to a new hoarder; her 7-year-old daughter.

For one Ohio woman, the trigger was the trauma she suffered on 9/11. For one Los Angeles man, it was the lasting effects of a brain hemorrhage. Compulsive hoarding has pushed them to a critical point in their lives. Now they must clean up, or risk losing it all.

Debbie, of Baltimore, Maryland knows that OCD drives her hoarding. And in Winthrop Harbor, Illinois Jeff doesn't believe he's a hoarder at all, but his kids think otherwise, due to his packed beachfront home.

In Dolan Springs, Arizona, Linda's hoarding escalated as her marriage began deteriorating several years ago. Now, her entire family is on the brink of collapse. Norski of Fortuna, California has overcome addictions to drugs and alcohol but kicking the hoarding habit may prove even harder.

If compulsive hoarder Michael can't clean his Connecticut home in six weeks, he will go to jail. Meanwhile a motivational speaker in Boston manages everyone's lives - except her own.

In Columbus, Ohio Joyce's compulsive collecting almost cost her husband his life, while Norine's hoarding forced her teenage daughter out of the house and now threatens to destroy what's left of their relationship.

Outside Seattle, Washington, Debbie turned to hoarding after a shocking confession ended her marriage. Meanwhile, with disease and illness plaguing her family, Julie fills her Winona, Minnesota home to ease the pain.

Extreme Hoarder and former Chicago flight attendant Jahn struggles to clear her belongings from not one, but two houses in Willow Springs, Illinois before both are condemned.

A Mays Landing, New Jersey woman's out of control obsession with bikinis, sweaters and dresses threatens to destroy her relationship with her only daughter. A Boca Raton, Florida man has filled his home with treasures, and must clear his hoard in order to have a relationship with his grandchildren.

Conditions inside Tammy's Racine, Wisconsin home have become so bad, that she's forced to eat her meals in the car and her sick father is unable to return home from the hospital. Meanwhile in Lancaster, Texas, Suzanna's OCD mixed with her obsessive need to hoard, she says stems from her cruel string of ex-husbands and her former drug problems. Now, she must clean her packed home, in exchange for a place where her grandchildren can see her.

Sharon must clear her Louisa, Virginia home, of a hoard, largely obtained by theft. On a rural horse ranch in Willimantic, Connecticut, Len must choose between his hoard and his daughter.

 After decades of hoarding, Debbie has not only lost the comforts of her Keokuk, Iowa home but the company of her four children as well. Chip's compulsive hoarding has forced his family of six to squeeze into 1600 square feet of living space.

While Patti's extreme hoarding has made it virtually impossible for her daughter to live with her in her Zzyzx, California home, Jonathan's obsession has kept his three-year-old son from even coming in the door of his ramshackle 1778 colonial home in Boston.

Decades of extreme hoarding have put Kay's marriage in serious jeopardy while Toni's compulsive shopping has made her Stockton, California own home a danger zone for her two-year-old granddaughter.

A Gaston, Oregon mother desperately tries to protect her children from their father, Nathan's, hoard. While a Dallas, Texas artist chooses frogs, penguins and banana peels over her live-in boyfriend, Kevin.

The tumbling piles of Maggie's Carpentersville, Illinois home are putting her own son's life at risk while Bob's all consuming passion for swimming pool parts has not only filled his Yuma, Arizona home, but is now pushing his family to the brink.