A Hoarding Alliance local resource guide
You can ask for help making a doorway, kitchen, or repair area easier to use without deciding what to do with everything. If you’re helping someone else, ask what they want to be able to do and which belongings they want left alone.
Start here - Fight the Blight
If you need heat, food, or a safe place tonight, tell intake that first. If a notice has a deadline, keep it and give the date when you call. If the need isn’t urgent, you can ask about a virtual group or a conversation without committing to a cleanout.
Ask how a first conversation or virtual group works before sharing photos or other personal details.
Role: nonprofit front door for hoarding-related support and virtual groups; geography: ask about remote access from Albion and Orleans County; cost/eligibility: confirm registration, group fit, and any cost; local funded in-home help is not assumed; emergency limit: not therapy or emergency response.
For an active fire, immediate danger, or a medical emergency, move to safety if you can and call 911. Tell responders if an entrance is blocked or someone may need help leaving.
First conversations
You do not need to know the perfect service name before reaching out. These organizations can help you understand the landscape and identify a next step.
Ask how decisions about belongings are made and whether you can start with one task.
Use online peer support to think through a conversation or plan a manageable step. Share only what you want to share.
Give your ZIP and lead with what you need most. Ask which program serves your address and whether to call before traveling.
Safety and stability
These pathways serve different situations. Read the labels carefully before calling, especially when a response may involve crisis care, protective services, shelter, housing rules, legal advocacy, or emergency dispatch.
Call from a safe place. Explain if doors or hallways are blocked or anyone might still be inside.
Use the hospital emergency department for medical emergencies. It does not arrange routine hoarding care or home cleanup.
When it’s safe, prioritize usable exits and space around heat sources. Do not return to an unsafe building for belongings.
Keep any written notice and ask which corrections and dates apply. Contacting an office does not extend a deadline.
Say if you have nowhere safe to stay, face an eviction deadline, or may lose heat. Ask where to start and what information to bring.
Describe the specific risk and what support the adult already has. Clutter by itself does not establish eligibility.
If someone is using access to your home or belongings to control you, ask about safer options from a device you can use privately.
Keep notices and court papers and tell intake the next date on them. Ask what help the program can provide or where else to try.
Tell intake if you cannot stay safely tonight. Ask which program fits and whether there is a separate after-hours intake.
People and practical help
These listings connect the local community with housing, food, behavioral health, benefits, transit, survivor advocacy, disability support, peer support, and practical resources. Ask about current availability, cost, scope, consent, and safety before relying on them.
Ask whether the clinic can assess difficulty acquiring, discarding, or using rooms safely and make a specialty referral if needed.
Ask about falls, breathing, sleep, or other health concerns and whether a referral would help.
If a child’s wellbeing or use of the home is affected, ask about an assessment and what supports are available to the family.
Use the information to prepare questions about hoarding-specific care and how your goals would shape treatment.
If a disability affects your ability to use your home or reach services, ask about peer support and independent living goals.
Ask about housing barriers and disability-related access needs. Keep a separate plan if you need somewhere safe tonight.
Call before visiting. Mention if you don’t have working cooking equipment or a safe place to store food.
Ask what areas need to be accessible for an assessment. If you have no heat now, start with county benefits intake.
If you are low on fuel or facing a shutoff, tell intake when and ask which benefit is open.
Ask about home-delivered meals, caregiver support, or help at home. If you need food today, check pantry access separately.
Check your stop, service day, and last return trip before arranging an appointment.
Ask before setting out bulky items or bringing materials to a facility. If a container is leaking or unidentified, get handling instructions before moving it.
A note from the Alliance
This guide is anchored in Albion, New York, and includes city, county, state, nonprofit, national, and independent pathways. A listing here does not mean Fight the Blight endorses every provider or can guarantee availability. The Hoarding Alliance is not a city or county agency, therapy practice, emergency service, or cleanup company. We will keep reviewing this page, but please confirm details directly before relying on them.
Need help choosing a path? Contact Fight the Blight