A Hoarding Alliance local resource guide
A respectful local 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 Baraboo and Sauk 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 Baraboo can also use city, county, state, nonprofit, and independent pathways for crisis response, housing, aging, disability, protective services, benefits, legal information, food, transportation, and care 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 emotional distress or behavioral-health crisis support, call or text 988 or Sauk County's crisis line at 1-800-533-5692. For shelter, food, and basic-needs navigation, review Wisconsin 211, Pathway Home, and Sauk County's local resource routes.
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.
Use Wisconsin 211 to identify current local resources for shelter, food, utilities, health care, mental health, substance use, benefits, and other needs. A referral is not a guarantee of an open bed, appointment, benefit, or service, so confirm directly.
Sauk County Human Services is the local entry point for mental-health and substance-use services, crisis support, adult and child protective services, benefits, and community programs. Call an intake worker to ask which route fits and what eligibility, cost, or documentation applies.
Sauk County lists daytime crisis intake through Human Services and an after-hours crisis line through Northwest Connections. Call to discuss a behavioral-health or substance-use crisis and ask what response is available; call 911 for immediate physical danger, fire, violence, or a medical emergency.
The Aging and Disability Resource Center helps older adults, people with disabilities, caregivers, families, and supporters compare services, transportation, benefits, meals, home supports, and long-term-care options. Call to ask about current programs, accessibility, and follow-up.
NAMI Wisconsin describes free, confidential peer-support groups for people living with a mental-health concern. Ask the state office or a local affiliate about current Baraboo-area or virtual groups, accessibility, and whether the group is a fit for ongoing support.
The International OCD Foundation directory can be searched for clinicians, support groups, organizers, and programs that indicate an interest in hoarding-related care. Listings are not endorsements. Ask about licensure, fees, insurance, wait time, privacy, and whether home-based or telehealth work fits.
Sauk County Public Health maintains resource information for individuals and families, including crisis contacts, housing, food, utilities, transportation, health, and other local pathways. Use it to identify a possible next call, then confirm current details directly.
The City of Baraboo maintains a directory of local food, housing, transit, senior, benefits, recovery, and community resources. It is a starting point for finding a local contact, not a guarantee that a program is open or appropriate.
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 911 for a fire, medical emergency, violence, immediate threat, suicide attempt, or dangerous condition that cannot wait for a scheduled service. Emergency dispatch is not a hoarding-support program, counseling service, or cleanup provider.
Call or text 988, or use online chat, for emotional distress, suicidal thoughts, mental-health or substance-use crisis, or concern about a loved one. Call 911 for immediate danger.
Sauk County describes crisis intervention and mobile response during business hours through Human Services at 505 Broadway in Baraboo. Ask for a crisis worker and what response fits; use the after-hours number or 911 when daytime intake is closed.
Sauk County lists 1-800-533-5692 for crisis response during nights, weekends, and holidays. Call to discuss the concern and ask about available response; call 911 for immediate danger, violence, fire, or a medical emergency.
Sauk County accepts referrals for adults age 18 and older who are elderly or have disabilities and may be experiencing abuse, neglect, or exploitation. A clutter or fire concern may require a broader safety plan; call 911 for a life-threatening emergency.
Wisconsin DHS explains how to report suspected abuse, neglect, self-neglect, or financial exploitation to the county where the adult at risk lives. Use Sauk County's local route for county follow-up and ask about emergency options.
Sauk County Human Services is the local route for child-safety concerns. Call 911 when a child faces immediate danger and call the county to ask which report route fits the concern and what after-hours instructions apply.
Hope House provides free advocacy, safety planning, legal support, counseling referrals, groups, and emergency shelter for people affected by domestic or sexual violence. Services are available whether or not someone stays in the shelter. Call before traveling and call 911 for immediate danger.
Pathway Home describes emergency shelter, basic needs, and help finding longer-term affordable housing. Call the pre-screen line before traveling; the shelter does not accept guests who have not been pre-admitted and contacted for intake.
The Sauk County Housing Authority administers public housing, tax-credit multifamily housing, and rural-development housing for eligible low-income residents. Contact the Baraboo office to ask about applications, current waitlists, accessibility, and reasonable accommodations.
Wisconsin's energy and housing resource pages identify heating, electric, crisis, emergency furnace, and weatherization pathways for Sauk County. Ask about current income rules, applications, required documents, unsafe-heating response, and after-hours instructions; call 911 for a fire or immediate medical danger.
Call 211 or use the Wisconsin 211 search to ask about current shelter, housing, food, utility, and crisis options. A referral is not a guarantee of an open bed or service, so confirm intake, accessibility, belongings, pets, and travel needs directly.
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.
Sauk County Human Services connects residents with FoodShare, BadgerCare Plus, Medicaid, energy assistance, and child-care support. Ask about current applications, required documents, language access, and disability accommodations.
FoodShare is Wisconsin's SNAP program and can help eligible households buy food. Apply through ACCESS or the county route, complete the required interview, and ask about language or disability accommodations if needed.
The Baraboo Food Pantry provides donated and purchased food for families in the Baraboo School District. It is open Monday and Thursday mornings except holidays and weather-related school closures; confirm current hours and registration details before traveling.
Beyond Blessed Pantry offers free drive-through food distribution on Wednesdays. The pantry says no paperwork is required, but household and zip-code information is collected at registration. Confirm the current line location, weather notices, accessibility, and pickup rules before traveling.
The ADRC can help residents compare benefits, meals, transportation, home supports, caregiver resources, long-term care, protective-services routes, and independent-living options. Call to ask about current programs and follow-up.
Sauk County ADRC lists taxi subsidy, volunteer driver escort, and other planned transportation options. Call ahead about eligibility, accessible rides, reservations, fares, and whether a trip fits the service area; this is not emergency transport.
Baraboo Transit provides shared-ride service that can be scheduled in advance. Call before relying on it for a pantry, shelter, clinic, or housing appointment to confirm pickup time, fare, accessibility, and service-area details; it is planned transportation, not emergency transport.
Sauk Prairie Healthcare lists family medicine, behavioral-health-related services, emergency care, and other medical services. Ask about current locations, clinical scope, coverage, financial assistance, and whether a scheduled visit or emergency department is appropriate; call 911 for an emergency.
Sauk County identifies remote-access medical and behavioral-health visits through Family Health La Clinica and community-clinic pathways. Confirm current location, telehealth availability, payment or coverage, language access, and intake requirements directly.
Hope House serves survivors and people concerned about someone affected by domestic or sexual violence, whether or not they use the shelter. Call its confidential helpline to ask about safety planning, legal help, support groups, transportation, and current services.
The City of Baraboo identifies St. Vincent de Paul at 100 South Boulevard as a food-pantry and community-assistance route. Confirm current hours, registration, food availability, clothing or household assistance, and any documentation requested before traveling.
Wisconsin energy and housing resources identify Central Wisconsin Community Action Council as a housing and emergency-assistance pathway. Ask about current rental, utility, shelter, weatherization, and household-stability programs serving Sauk County.
Wisconsin Judicare provides civil legal services for eligible residents. Use its intake process to ask whether the concern involves housing, utilities, public benefits, disability, or another current civil-legal priority.
Pathway Home helps people experiencing homelessness with emergency shelter and a path toward affordable longer-term housing. Call before relying on the program and ask about intake, belongings, pets, accessibility, length of stay, and case-management follow-up.
The City of Baraboo lists the Baraboo Area Senior Center as a local community resource. Confirm current activities, meals, social connection, accessibility, transportation, and any age or participation requirements directly.
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, and safety in Baraboo or across Wisconsin.
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.
A note from the Alliance
This guide is anchored in Baraboo, Wisconsin, 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