A Hoarding Alliance local resource guide

Hoarding support in Alexandria, Virginia.

A respectful place to begin, whether you are looking for support for yourself, worried about someone you love, or trying to respond to a safety, housing, care, or practical concern in Alexandria.

People first.Then the stuff.A Fight the Blight initiative

Start here - Fight the Blight

You do not have to solve everything before asking for help.

Our virtual groups give people affected by hoarding and clutter concerns a place to connect from Alexandria and other communities. We can help you think through what is happening and what kind of next step may fit.

For immediate danger

Call 911 for immediate danger, fire, rescue, a medical emergency, violence, or an active threat. For behavioral-health or substance-use crisis support, call 988 or Alexandria DCHS at 703-746-3401. For city resource navigation, call Alex311 or 703-746-4311; for broader Virginia navigation, call 211.

First conversations

A few good places to start

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.

Private-pay hoarding support, organizing help, groups, and family guidance - broader service area, including possible support for Alexandria; private-pay scope, cost, scheduling, travel, consent, safety, and capacity must be confirmed directly; not emergency or clinical care

The Peer Tree

The Peer Tree is the private-pay pathway for organizing help, decluttering support, groups, family guidance, and practical next steps when a grant or public program is not the right fit. Ask about scope, cost, travel, consent, safety, and whether support is available in Alexandria or the surrounding region.

Digital peer-support pathway for people affected by hoarding and clutter concerns - online; not therapy or emergency support

Unburied

Unburied, from The Peer Tree, offers a judgment-free digital pathway with peer support, groups, and tools for people directly affected and for friends or family supporters. It is not therapy, a crisis service, or a substitute for emergency help.

Free 24/7 call, text, and chat crisis pathway - Virginia and nationwide; crisis response, privacy, and handoff rules apply; not cleanup or emergency dispatch

Virginia 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline

Call or text 988 for confidential behavioral-health crisis support and connection to Virginia's crisis system. Use 911 for immediate danger, fire, rescue, or a medical emergency.

Qualified adult mental-health, substance-use, developmental-disability, same-day-access, and crisis pathway - City of Alexandria residents; clinical intake, eligibility, payment, referral, and capacity rules apply

Alexandria DCHS Behavioral Health Hub

Alexandria's Department of Community and Human Services provides same-day access, outpatient behavioral-health, substance-use, developmental-disability, and crisis pathways for eligible city residents. Confirm current intake and fit; it is not a cleanup provider.

24/7 behavioral-health emergency assessment and crisis-intervention pathway - City of Alexandria; clinical triage, transport, payment, and capacity rules apply; not cleanup or general emergency dispatch

Alexandria 24-Hour Emergency Mental Health Services

Alexandria DCHS provides 24-hour emergency mental-health services by phone, with walk-in and telehealth options. Call 703-746-3401 for crisis intervention and call 911 for immediate danger.

City housing, shelter, eviction, foreclosure, mediation, accessibility, home-repair, and homelessness-navigation pathway - Alexandria city limits; assessment, eligibility, documentation, and capacity rules apply; not emergency dispatch

Alexandria Housing and Homeless Services

Alexandria connects residents with housing-crisis, shelter, eviction, foreclosure, mediation, affordable-housing, accessibility, and home-repair pathways. Ask about current eligibility and availability before relying on a referral.

Safety and stability

When the concern involves safety, housing, or crisis

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.

Immediate danger and emergency dispatch - Alexandria response area; use for fire, rescue, medical emergency, violence, or active threat; not a hoarding-support program

911 Emergency Services

Call 911 when there is immediate danger, fire, a medical emergency, violence, a rescue need, or a threat that cannot wait for a scheduled service.

Official city 911 public-safety answering and emergency-communications pathway - Alexandria; emergency dispatch and incident rules apply

Alexandria Emergency Communications

Alexandria's Emergency Communications center receives emergency calls and routes police, fire, and emergency medical response. Call 911 for immediate danger rather than a city department or planned service.

Local police reporting, response, and non-emergency public-safety pathway - City of Alexandria; jurisdiction and response rules apply; use 911 for immediate danger

Alexandria Police Department

Alexandria Police provides law-enforcement response and reporting. Use 703-746-4444 for planned or non-emergency concerns and call 911 for immediate danger.

Fire suppression, fire prevention, rescue, emergency medical, and fire-safety pathway - City of Alexandria; emergency response, inspection, transport, and service rules apply

Alexandria Fire Department

Alexandria Fire provides professional fire, rescue, and emergency medical response. Call 911 for an emergency and use the department route for routine fire-safety questions.

Local emergency preparedness, hazard information, alerts, response, and recovery pathway - City of Alexandria; incident-specific instructions and local-response rules apply; not emergency dispatch

Alexandria Emergency Management

Alexandria Emergency Management coordinates preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery information. During an active emergency, follow 911 and public-safety instructions first.

Free city-service navigation and service-request pathway - Alexandria; department jurisdiction, hours, service-area, and request rules apply; use 911 for immediate danger

Alex311

Alex311 connects residents with more than 175 city services, including planned property, housing, public-works, and human-services questions. It is not emergency dispatch; call 911 for immediate danger.

24/7 emergency mental-health assessment, crisis intervention, and behavioral-health connection - Alexandria; clinical triage, transport, privacy, and capacity rules apply; call 911 for immediate danger

Alexandria DCHS Emergency Mental Health Services

Alexandria DCHS operates a 24/7 emergency mental-health line for residents needing urgent behavioral-health support. Call 703-746-3401; use 911 for immediate danger, fire, rescue, or a medical emergency.

Protective-services reporting and assessment pathway for abuse, neglect, exploitation, and self-neglect - Alexandria; reporting, confidentiality, jurisdiction, and emergency rules apply

Alexandria Adult Protective Services

Alexandria APS receives reports involving older adults and adults who may be incapacitated, including abuse, neglect, exploitation, or self-neglect. Call 911 for immediate danger and confirm current reporting guidance.

Child protective-services reporting and assessment pathway - City of Alexandria; assessment, confidentiality, jurisdiction, and emergency rules apply

Alexandria Child Protective Services

Alexandria CPS receives reports of suspected child abuse or neglect involving an Alexandria child or family. Call 911 for immediate danger.

Free confidential domestic-violence, shelter, safety-planning, advocacy, and family-support pathway - Alexandria; survivor intake, confidentiality, capacity, and safety rules apply

Alexandria Domestic Violence Program

Alexandria's domestic-violence program provides 24/7 hotline support, safety planning, advocacy, emergency shelter, and related referrals. Use a safe communication method when privacy may be a concern.

Confidential sexual-assault crisis, advocacy, and referral pathway - Alexandria; survivor intake, confidentiality, safety, and capacity rules apply; call 911 for immediate danger

Alexandria Sexual Assault Response

Alexandria publishes a sexual-assault crisis line and victim-services pathway. Contact 703-683-7273 for support and call 911 for immediate danger.

24/7 emergency medical and behavioral-health evaluation pathway - Alexandria and Northern Virginia; triage, transfer, insurance, payment, and capacity rules apply; use 911 for immediate danger

Inova Alexandria Hospital Emergency Department

Inova Alexandria Hospital provides emergency evaluation and hospital care for serious medical or behavioral-health concerns. Hospital care is not a cleanup program; call 911 for an emergency.

Public-health, environmental-health, WIC, clinic, preparedness, and health-navigation pathway - City of Alexandria; appointment, eligibility, fee, and jurisdiction rules apply

Alexandria Health Department

The Alexandria Health Department provides public-health, environmental-health, clinic, WIC, and prevention services. Confirm current clinic locations, appointments, eligibility, and fees before traveling.

Emergency and transitional shelter pathway for adults and families experiencing homelessness - Alexandria; intake, household, eligibility, capacity, and length-of-stay rules apply; not emergency dispatch

Alexandria Community Shelter

Alexandria Community Shelter is an emergency shelter resource for people experiencing homelessness. Call the city homeless-services line first to confirm current intake, capacity, and eligibility; call 911 for immediate danger.

Emergency shelter and supportive-services pathway for people experiencing homelessness - Alexandria; intake, interview, household, eligibility, capacity, and length-of-stay rules apply; not emergency dispatch

Carpenter's Shelter

Carpenter's Shelter provides shelter and supportive services in Alexandria. Confirm current access, referral, documents, and bed availability before traveling; call 911 for immediate danger.

State emergency preparedness, disaster-information, shelter, evacuation, and resilience pathway - Virginia; incident-specific guidance and local-response rules apply

Virginia Department of Emergency Management

Virginia Department of Emergency Management provides statewide preparedness and disaster information. During an active local emergency, follow 911, Alexandria, and public-safety instructions first.

Utility-location and excavation-safety pathway - Virginia, including Alexandria; request timing, utility marking, and project rules apply; not a repair or emergency-dispatch service

Virginia 811

Use Virginia 811 before digging or starting work that could affect buried utilities. Follow current request timing and call 911 for an active utility emergency.

People and practical help

Housing, food, care, transportation, and ongoing support

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.

Benefits, food, healthcare, utility, housing, and financial-assistance navigation - Alexandria city residents; program, income, household, identity, documentation, and capacity rules apply

Alexandria DCHS Benefits and Assistance

Alexandria DCHS connects eligible residents with benefits, food, healthcare, utility, housing, and financial-assistance programs. Ask about current documents and eligibility before relying on a referral.

Online benefits application and screening pathway - Virginia; program, income, household, identity, and documentation rules apply

Virginia CommonHelp

CommonHelp is Virginia's official application and screening pathway for food, health, cash, energy, and child-care assistance. Eligibility depends on the program and household circumstances.

Free confidential resource-navigation pathway - Virginia; local availability, eligibility, language access, and referral limits apply; not emergency dispatch

211 Virginia

Call 211 or search Virginia's resource directory for food, housing, utilities, health care, employment, veteran, child-care, and crisis-navigation options. Call 911 for an emergency.

Affordable-housing, accessibility, home-repair, homebuyer, and housing-stability pathway - Alexandria city limits; income, ownership, application, inspection, waitlist, and availability rules apply

Alexandria Office of Housing

The Alexandria Office of Housing publishes affordable-housing, accessibility, home-repair, and homebuyer pathways. Programs may be income-qualified or have application windows; confirm current eligibility and availability.

Public housing, Housing Choice Voucher, and affordable-housing pathway - Alexandria; income, household, waitlist, documentation, and availability rules apply

Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority

ARHA administers public-housing and Housing Choice Voucher pathways for eligible Alexandria households. Confirm whether a waitlist is open and what current documents and eligibility rules apply.

Renter education, housing mediation, rental-search, voucher, and tenant-navigation pathway - Alexandria; tenancy, income, documentation, and program rules apply

Alexandria Renter Resources

Alexandria's renter resources include housing mediation, rental information, affordable-housing maps, and voucher navigation. Confirm current eligibility and service scope for a specific tenancy concern.

Civil legal-aid and advice pathway - Northern Virginia; income, case type, conflict, funding, and intake rules apply; not emergency dispatch

Legal Services of Northern Virginia

LSNV provides civil legal help for qualifying Northern Virginia residents in areas such as housing, public benefits, family, consumer, and safety-related matters. Confirm current intake and eligibility.

Lawyer-referral and legal-information pathway - Alexandria; attorney availability, consultation fee, conflict, case type, and scope rules apply; not emergency dispatch

Alexandria Lawyer Referral Service

The Alexandria Lawyer Referral Service can help identify a private attorney for a legal issue. Ask about consultation cost, scope, and whether the attorney handles the specific housing, benefits, or safety matter.

City public-works, trash, recycling, stormwater, environmental-quality, transportation, and service-request pathway - Alexandria; service-area, material, permit, schedule, and code rules apply

Alexandria Transportation and Environmental Services

TES connects residents with city transportation, solid-waste, recycling, stormwater, and environmental services. Confirm the correct department, accepted materials, schedule, and property jurisdiction before planning work.

Curbside trash, recycling, yard-waste, bulk, and practical disposal pathway - Alexandria city limits; service-area, material, schedule, container, and special-item rules apply; not emergency cleanup

Alexandria Trash and Recycling

Alexandria publishes current trash, recycling, yard-waste, bulk, and special-item guidance. Confirm accepted materials and collection requirements before setting anything out or arranging disposal.

Stormwater, city utility-billing, public-works, and utility-account navigation - Alexandria; account, property, payment, service-area, and department rules apply; not emergency dispatch

Alexandria Utilities

Alexandria's utilities information identifies the city's stormwater utility and current electric, gas, water, wastewater, and telecommunications providers. Confirm the correct provider and account route for the property.

Water service, billing, leaks, water-quality, and outage pathway - Alexandria service area; account, service-address, payment, outage, and emergency rules apply

Virginia American Water

Virginia American Water is listed by Alexandria as a primary water provider. Confirm the property account and use the provider's current outage and emergency route for water-service concerns.

Electric service, outage, billing, payment-support, and energy-assistance pathway - Virginia customers; account, outage, payment, and emergency rules apply

Dominion Energy Virginia

Use Dominion Energy's current outage, customer-service, and assistance routes when it is the electric provider for a property. Call 911 for a downed line, fire, or immediate danger.

Natural-gas service, leak, outage, billing, and safety pathway - Northern Virginia customers; account, location, payment, and emergency rules apply

Washington Gas

Use Washington Gas for gas-service questions, billing, outage, and assistance. If you smell gas or suspect an active leak, leave the area and call the emergency number or 911 from a safe location.

Wastewater treatment, sewer, billing, and water-reclamation pathway - Alexandria and nearby service area; account, service-address, payment, and emergency rules apply

AlexRenew

AlexRenew provides wastewater treatment and related customer information for Alexandria. Confirm the property service account and current emergency route for sewer or wastewater concerns.

Fixed-route bus, Metrobus, Metrorail, VRE, and regional public-transit pathway - Alexandria and Northern Virginia; schedules, fares, accessibility, and service rules apply

DASH and Regional Bus and Rail

Alexandria's transportation information connects residents with DASH, Metrobus, Metrorail, VRE, and other regional options. Verify current schedules, fares, accessibility, and service changes before traveling.

ADA paratransit application, eligibility, and demand-response transportation pathway - Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Fairfax City, Falls Church, and DC; certification, advance booking, fare, and service-area rules apply

Alexandria DOT Paratransit

Alexandria DOT provides paratransit information for qualifying riders who cannot use fixed-route service because of a disability. An application and advance reservation are required; confirm current eligibility and fares.

Free public-library, computer, Wi-Fi, information, meeting-room, digital-media, and community-learning pathway - Alexandria; card, branch, program, room, and technology rules apply

Alexandria Library

Alexandria Library offers books, computers, Wi-Fi, digital resources, programs, and local information. Confirm current hours, card rules, and program access before visiting.

Public school, family, student-support, special-education, enrollment, and school-community pathway - Alexandria; enrollment, age, residency, disability, and program rules apply

Alexandria City Public Schools

ACPS publishes enrollment, family, student-support, special-education, and school-community information for Alexandria students and families. Confirm current registration and support routes.

Older-adult information, meals, home-delivered meals, case-management, transportation, legal, and protective-services navigation - Alexandria; age, disability, assessment, referral, and capacity rules apply

Alexandria Aging and Adult Services

Alexandria's Division of Aging and Adult Services connects eligible residents with meals, home-based support, transportation, information, and protective-services pathways. Confirm current program availability and eligibility.

Official food-pantry, meal, SNAP, school-meal, and food-navigation directory - Alexandria; provider hours, household, identification, transportation, supply, and eligibility rules apply

Alexandria Food Resource Directory

Alexandria publishes a current food-resource directory with local food and benefits pathways. Call the listed provider before traveling because hours, supplies, and eligibility can change.

Independent nonprofit food, shelter, financial-assistance, furniture, and household-stability pathway - Alexandria; application, household, funding, scheduling, and capacity rules apply; not emergency dispatch

ALIVE!

ALIVE! provides practical support to eligible Alexandria households, including food, shelter-related, financial, furniture, and household-stability programs. Confirm current intake, documents, and service capacity directly.

Regional food-resource and hunger-relief referral pathway - Northern Virginia and the Washington region; household, provider, language, supply, and service-area rules apply

Capital Area Food Bank

Capital Area Food Bank's get-help pathway helps residents identify nearby food resources. Confirm the current provider, hours, eligibility, and transportation options before visiting.

Workforce, job-search, training, resume, and employment-support pathway - Virginia and Northern Virginia; eligibility, appointment, program, and funding rules apply

Virginia Career Works

Virginia Career Works provides workforce and employment services. Confirm current Northern Virginia locations, appointments, training eligibility, and available supports.

Veteran benefits, housing, behavioral-health, employment, and service-navigation pathway - Virginia veterans and eligible family members; military-service, benefit, and appointment rules apply

Virginia Department of Veterans Services

Virginia's veterans-services network can help eligible veterans and family members navigate benefits, housing, employment, behavioral health, and related supports.

State benefits, protective-services, child-care, family-support, and local-agency navigation pathway - Virginia; program, household, identity, documentation, and jurisdiction rules apply

Virginia Department of Social Services

Virginia DSS provides statewide information and local-agency pathways for public benefits, protective services, child care, and family supports. Confirm the local Alexandria intake route and current eligibility.

Animal-safety, shelter, lost-pet, veterinary-assistance, and pet-support pathway - Alexandria; animal, intake, appointment, cost, and capacity rules apply

Animal Welfare League of Alexandria

The Animal Welfare League of Alexandria provides animal shelter, welfare, lost-pet, and pet-support information. Confirm current intake and veterinary-assistance eligibility; call 911 for an immediate human emergency.

City recreation, parks, senior, wellness, community-center, and low-pressure community-connection pathway - Alexandria; age, schedule, registration, accessibility, and fee rules apply

Alexandria Recreation, Parks, and Cultural Activities

Alexandria's recreation and parks programs offer low-pressure ways to connect, move, and find practical community information. Confirm schedules, accessibility, fees, and registration rules.

Permits, inspections, building safety, zoning, property-use, and code-enforcement pathway - Alexandria city limits; notice, property, inspection, fee, appeal, and jurisdiction rules apply

Alexandria Code Administration and Planning

Use city code, permit, planning, and zoning channels for property-safety or use questions. A code contact is not a cleanup provider and cannot promise a particular enforcement outcome.

A note from the Alliance

Start with the person. Then decide what the situation needs.

This guide is anchored in Alexandria, Virginia, 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