A Hoarding Alliance local resource guide
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 Austin and Travis County.
Start here - Fight the Blight
Fight the Blight is the nonprofit and virtual-group front door for people affected by hoarding and clutter concerns. People in Austin and Travis County can also use city, county, statewide, nonprofit, national, and independent pathways for crisis, housing, aging, disability, protective services, benefits, food, utilities, care, repairs, waste, and practical navigation. No outside listing is an endorsement; each organization sets its own eligibility, cost, hours, service area, capacity, consent, and safety rules.
For immediate danger, fire, serious injury, or a life-threatening medical emergency, call 911. For behavioral-health crisis support in Austin and Travis County, call Integral Care 24/7 at 512-472-4357 or call or text 988. For homelessness and local resource navigation, call 3-1-1 or 2-1-1 Texas. Shelter, crisis, and public-resource availability can change; confirm directly before traveling.
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.
The 2-1-1 Texas Information and Referral Network can search by ZIP code or county for food, shelter, rent, utilities, healthcare, counseling, transportation, aging, and other local needs. Ask for Travis County options and confirm eligibility, capacity, hours, and referral requirements directly.
Integral Care is the Travis County local mental-health and intellectual/developmental-disability authority. It provides low-cost behavioral-health and substance-use services, counseling, psychiatry, housing support, and a 24/7 helpline. Ask whether the current team serves hoarding-related concerns and what intake route fits.
Copper Bridge Counseling describes specialized hoarding-disorder treatment in Austin, including individual and family work and an OCD-focused training background. This is an independent clinical lead, not an Alliance or Fight the Blight provider. Ask about current availability, treatment approach, fees, insurance, privacy, and whether in-home work is offered.
UT Health Austin identifies hoarding and excessive saving among OCD-related concerns and describes evidence-based OCD treatment, including exposure and response prevention. Ask whether the current program evaluates hoarding disorder directly, what referral or insurance rules apply, and whether the care is appropriate for the situation.
The Capital Area Agency on Aging serves Travis County through the Capital Area Council of Governments. Use it for information and referral, caregiver support, benefits, transportation, in-home services, nutrition, and aging-related planning. It is not hoarding-specific therapy or automatic free cleanup. Ask what current local pathway fits.
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.
Texas APS investigates concerns involving abuse, neglect, self-neglect, or financial exploitation of adults who may be unable to protect themselves. Use this for a genuine protective concern, not as a general cleanup referral. Texas says APS cannot force services on a capable adult; call 911 for immediate danger.
Call or text 988 for emotional distress, a mental-health or substance-use crisis, or concern about someone else. 988 is not a cleanup provider and does not guarantee an in-home response. Call 911 for immediate danger, fire, violence, or a medical emergency.
Call 911 when there is immediate danger, fire, a medical emergency, violence, or a threat that cannot wait for a scheduled service. Emergency dispatch is not a hoarding-support program, behavioral-health counseling service, or cleanup provider. When the situation is not immediately dangerous, begin with a support, care, or navigation pathway.
Integral Care operates a 24/7 helpline for crisis support, appointments, and service information. Ask what current crisis response fits the situation and whether Psychiatric Emergency Services or a mobile response is appropriate. It is not a hoarding cleanup or organizing service; call 911 for immediate danger.
Travis County describes Psychiatric Emergency Services as a voluntary psychiatric urgent-care resource for people seeking behavioral-health crisis treatment. Confirm current hours, age range, transportation, and what to bring before going. A life-threatening emergency still requires 911.
The City of Austin lists local shelter pathways, including ARCH and other emergency shelter resources. Some intakes are made through city departments or homelessness-response partners rather than by self-referral. Confirm the current access point, household rules, and whether a bed or referral is available.
Austin Homeless Strategies and Operations describes transitional and affordable housing, permanent supportive housing, rapid rehousing, basic-needs support, case management, coordinated-entry assessment, and referrals. The city shelter page notes that some shelter intakes use waitlists or system referrals rather than walk-in access. Call 3-1-1 or review the current city pathway; this is housing navigation, not guaranteed placement, a cleanup service, or emergency dispatch.
HACA administers public housing, project-based assistance, and a large Housing Choice Voucher program. Waiting lists and openings change, and HACA says the HCV waitlist may be closed while other properties remain available. Ask about current applications, reasonable accommodations, household support needs, and any housing deadline.
Austin Housing identifies a Rent and Utility Assistance line for limited city funds addressing rent and Austin Energy needs. Each program has different eligibility requirements and assistance is not guaranteed. Ask about current intake, documents, funding status, and whether an eviction or shutoff deadline changes the route.
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.
Austin Resource Recovery serves eligible Austin residential customers with trash, recycling, compost, and scheduled bulk, brush, household hazardous waste, and clothing or textile collection. The city says brush, bulk, and household-hazardous-waste services use on-demand appointments and may be available up to three times per year per service. Confirm customer eligibility, accepted materials, set-out rules, appointment timing, and any current limits before moving items.
The Austin Recycle and Reuse Center is free for Austin and Travis County residents and accepts selected reusable and recyclable materials, including some household hazardous items. It is a drop-off resource, not a home cleanout crew. Confirm accepted materials, hours, quantities, and transportation before loading a vehicle.
Austin Energy lists customer-assistance programs, payment arrangements, bill-dispute help, and ways to manage high bills. Some discounts require participation in qualifying programs and assistance is not automatic. Call before a shutoff deadline and ask which current program fits the household.
Austin Water directs customers to City of Austin Utilities Customer Care for billing help, payment arrangements, and customer-assistance programs. This is a utility-stability pathway, not hoarding treatment or cleanup funding. Ask about current hardship options before a water shutoff or service problem becomes urgent.
Central Texas Food Bank's Find Food Now tool connects people with nearby food pantries, mobile distributions, older-adult programs, and partner agencies. Programs change frequently, so check the current tool and confirm details before traveling. Food support can help stabilize a household while other safety or housing steps are planned.
Caritas of Austin provides rapid rehousing and permanent supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness, including onsite support and mental-health counseling in some programs. It is not a hoarding cleanup service or a guarantee of housing. Ask about the current access point, coordinated entry, eligibility, and wait time.
Foundation Communities describes rent and utility assistance for residents of its properties who experience a financial emergency or loss of income. Assistance is not guaranteed and funds can run out. This is a housing-stability lead, not cleanup funding; confirm property eligibility, application windows, documents, and current limits.
Rebuilding Together Austin says it provides no-cost health and safety repairs and accessibility modifications for eligible low-income, disabled, senior, and veteran homeowners in Travis County and nearby counties. It does not provide hoarding cleanup, but it may help after a safe plan identifies a repair or accessibility barrier. Apply directly and confirm current funding.
A Helping Hand advertises organizing, decluttering, and support for mild through severe organizing challenges, including hoarding disorder, with a Certified Professional Organizer in Chronic Disorganization. It is an independent commercial lead, not an Alliance or Fight the Blight provider. Ask about consent, pace, written scope, insurance, privacy, disposal, and cost.
The Clutter Cleaners advertises hoarding cleanup, organizing, estate sales, liquidation, and property cleanouts in Austin. It is an independent commercial lead, not an Alliance or Fight the Blight provider. Ask for a written scope, consent-centered process, disposal and donation plan, privacy, insurance, and an itemized estimate.
Lone Star Hoarding Cleanup advertises hoarding cleanup, clutter and organization, animal hoarding cleanup, and extreme cleaning in Austin. It is an independent commercial lead, not an Alliance or Fight the Blight provider and not a substitute for clinical or peer support. Ask about worker training, consent, privacy, disposal, insurance, and the written estimate.
The Peer Tree offers nonclinical hoarding and clutter support, including organizing help, groups, family guidance, and practical next steps. Ask about current availability, service area, scope, pacing, privacy, and fees before beginning. The Peer Tree is a separate private-pay pathway from Fight the Blight's nonprofit programming.
Unburied, from The Peer Tree, is a judgment-free digital peer-support pathway for people affected by hoarding and clutter concerns and for friends and family. It can offer ongoing connection, tools, and momentum from Austin or anywhere else. It is not therapy, clinical care, or emergency support.
A note from the Alliance
This guide is anchored in Austin, Texas, 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