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 Columbus and Franklin 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, including people directly affected and supporters who want to learn how to provide support. People in Columbus and Franklin County can also use current city, county, statewide, nonprofit, peer-support, qualified-care, housing, shelter, food, benefits, legal, transportation, code, disposal, and practical pathways. No outside listing is an endorsement; each organization sets its own eligibility, cost, hours, service area, capacity, consent, privacy, and safety rules.
For immediate danger, fire, serious injury, violence, or a life-threatening medical emergency, call 911. For behavioral-health or substance-use crisis support in Ohio, call or text 988. For daily-needs and local human-service navigation, call 211 or 1-888-OHIO-211. Confirm the current local response before relying on it.
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 public Twin Brooks page describes a local collaboration involving behavioral health, aging, code enforcement, fire, housing, public health, veterans services, and practical providers. It does not publish a general intake line, so use it as a map of the local response network rather than assuming it offers direct cleanup or therapy.
Southeast Healthcare lists a Hoarding Program within its behavioral-health services and publishes a Columbus location. Call to confirm current intake, clinical scope, insurance or payment options, age requirements, and whether the approach fits the person's goals; this is qualified care, not emergency response or cleanup.
Ohio 211 is a free, confidential, 24/7 starting point for local help with housing, shelter, utilities, food, health care, caregiving, legal needs, mental health, and other daily barriers. It is not an emergency-dispatch line, hoarding-specific service, or cleanup provider; use 911 for immediate danger and 988 for behavioral-health crisis.
Columbus Public Health's Neighborhood Social Services connects residents with social work and resources involving housing, food, transportation, and other needs, and describes city mobile crisis and response pathways. Call to confirm current eligibility, hours, and the right team; this is navigation, not emergency dispatch, clinical care, or cleanup.
Franklin County's resident-services portal organizes current links for crisis assistance, health care, housing assistance, family resources, and other local needs. Use it to identify a possible route, then confirm availability, eligibility, hours, capacity, privacy, and intake directly with the listed organization.
The Office on Aging provides access to services that support independent living, including Adult Protective Services, caregiver and kinship support, and minor home repair for eligible Franklin County residents. Confirm the current age, income, functional, county, and referral requirements before relying on a program.
COAAA offers free caregiver advice, respite guidance, long-term-care consultation, and connections to in-home services across eight central Ohio counties. Specific programs may have age, functional, Medicaid, income, veteran, or county rules; the agency can help clarify which route fits. It is not emergency response or cleanup.
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 an immediate threat to life or safety, fire, serious injury, violence, or a life-threatening medical emergency. Emergency dispatch is not a hoarding-support, routine cleanup, or long-term housing service; describe the immediate safety need clearly.
Call or text 988 for immediate behavioral-health or substance-use crisis support and connection to crisis resources. It is not a cleanup service or substitute for 911 when there is immediate danger, fire, serious injury, violence, or a medical emergency.
Netcare provides a Franklin County crisis line and behavioral-health services that include crisis intervention, assessment, stabilization, and ongoing community-based care. Call 614-276-2273 or use 988 for behavioral crisis; call 911 for immediate danger, fire, or a medical emergency. Netcare's current public information says there is no on-site 24/7 walk-in option.
Netcare describes a Community Mobile Team made up of a licensed clinician and peer specialist for adults age 18 and older in Franklin County. The service is free and published hours are daily 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; call 614-276-2273 first to confirm current availability and fit. It is not a substitute for 911 during immediate danger and is not routine cleanup.
Franklin County APS receives reports involving adults age 60 and older who may be experiencing abuse, neglect, self-neglect, or exploitation and connects them with appropriate services. Referrals are confidential, but APS is not routine decluttering or emergency dispatch; call 911 for immediate danger and confirm current hours and response limits.
Columbus 311 is the city's non-emergency request and reporting pathway for city services, including property, sanitation, housing, and neighborhood conditions. Submit a request online or call 614-645-3111; it is not a support group, crisis line, emergency dispatcher, or cleanup provider.
Columbus Code Enforcement addresses housing, zoning, nuisance abatement, health, sanitation, safety, and environmental code concerns. A report may lead to inspection, notices, abatement, penalties, or appeal rights, so it can be an investigative or enforcement response; when there is no immediate danger, consider a supportive conversation before reporting.
Columbus Fire publishes a smoke-alarm hotline for residents who need a free alarm and safety guidance. Call 614-724-0935 to confirm current service area, scheduling, and installation details; call 911 for a fire or immediate threat. A smoke-alarm request is not hoarding support or cleanup.
The City describes an Emergency Repair Program for imminent dangers in a single-unit home that is owner-occupied for at least one year and within eligible Columbus limits or tax districts. Work must be identified by a code officer or housing rehabilitation coordinator; call 614-645-8526 to confirm current eligibility. This route does not cover rental or multiunit homes and is not a cleanup service.
Community Shelter Board coordinates the Franklin County and Central Ohio homelessness-response system and publishes a 24/7 homeless hotline. Call 614-274-7000 to ask about current coordinated entry and shelter pathways; a hotline call does not guarantee a bed, shelter placement, or permanent housing and is not a cleanup service.
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.
Franklin County JFS connects residents to Medicaid, SNAP, cash assistance, emergency PRC assistance, and other supportive services. Eligibility and documentation vary by program, and assistance is not guaranteed; call 844-640-6446 or review the county information before relying on a benefit.
The Ohio Benefits portal is a state entry point to apply for or manage benefits such as Medicaid, SNAP, and cash assistance. The portal does not guarantee eligibility or immediate assistance; expect program-specific identity, household, income, and documentation requirements and confirm urgent needs through local navigation.
Homeport is a Columbus-based nonprofit affordable-housing organization with housing and resident-support connections. It is not a hoarding-specific program or emergency shelter; ask about current properties, waitlists, accessibility, eligibility, support options, and whether a referral is required.
The City of Columbus human-services resources describe housing-stability work, homelessness prevention, shelter partnerships, and support for residents facing barriers. Use the City's current information or call 311 to identify the right partner and confirm eligibility, intake, availability, and whether a referral is needed; this is not a guaranteed housing placement or cleanup service.
CMHA provides public-housing and rental-assistance pathways in the Columbus area. Current application and waitlist status, preferences, screening, income, family, documentation, and reasonable-accommodation rules must be confirmed directly; housing placement is not guaranteed and this is not a cleanup service.
Mid-Ohio Food Collective provides a current food-access entry point for households in Central Ohio. Use its help page to identify a nearby food resource, then confirm hours, service area, household information, transportation, and current capacity before traveling; it is not emergency medical care or hoarding support.
The City maintains a searchable food-resource directory with free and low-cost options by ZIP code, region, and program. Call ahead to confirm current hours, eligibility, transportation, and capacity; this directory is basic-needs navigation, not emergency dispatch or hoarding-specific support.
COTA describes fixed-route bus service, COTA//Plus, and other Central Ohio transportation options. Review current routes, fares, schedules, accessibility, booking, and service area before relying on a trip; public transit is not emergency transportation or a moving or cleanup service.
COTA Mainstream is an ADA paratransit pathway with functional eligibility rather than financial eligibility. Applicants must complete the current application and assessment process; call 614-275-5833 to confirm eligibility, scheduling, fares, service area, and ride requirements. It is scheduled transportation, not an emergency service.
Ohio's Right to Counsel information describes free eviction help for qualifying Columbus tenants facing eviction, including a published pathway for households at or below 100% of the federal poverty level with a child in the home. Contact Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio at 888-246-4420 to confirm current eligibility, deadlines, intake, and capacity; this is not legal representation for every case or a cleanup service.
Ohio Legal Help provides educational information about housing, eviction, repairs, utilities, subsidized housing, security deposits, benefits, and other civil-legal issues. It is not a substitute for individualized legal advice or emergency help; use its current intake and referral information to determine whether a legal-aid organization may be able to help.
Columbus provides weekly trash and recycling guidance plus bulk-trash and household-hazardous-waste pathways. Bulk collection is free when scheduled under current city rules, but the service is not a whole-home cleanout; confirm prohibited items, container requirements, set-out timing, jurisdiction, and removal limits through 311 before making plans.
The Aging Solutions Foundation describes emergency help with rent, deposits, utilities, household items, repairs, and medical or safety repairs for people receiving qualifying COAAA case management. Start with COAAA to confirm referral, age, county, financial, case-management, and current-funding requirements; assistance is not guaranteed or emergency dispatch.
The International OCD Foundation directory can help locate hoarding-related professionals and task forces beyond Columbus. IOCDF says listed providers requested inclusion and that the organization has not investigated or evaluated competence, so confirm qualifications, scope, cost, service area, privacy, consent, and current availability directly; this is not emergency support.
The Peer Tree is the private-pay pathway for situations that need organizing, sorting, decluttering, deep cleaning, or support for friends and family beyond grant-funded options. Ask directly about current Columbus-area service availability, scope, pace, cost, privacy, consent, and safety; it is separate from Fight the Blight and is not emergency or clinical care.
Unburied is a judgment-free digital peer-support pathway for people affected by hoarding and clutter, including supporters who want to learn how to help. It can offer connection and ongoing momentum from home, but it is not therapy, emergency response, or a cleanup service; confirm current platform access and privacy details directly.
Bio-One of Columbus describes local hoarding and biohazard cleanup, estimates, and 24/7 availability for Columbus and surrounding areas. This is an independent private provider, not an Alliance referral or endorsement; ask about pricing, scope, insurance, privacy, worker safety, consent, disposal, and whether the work fits the person's goals before hiring.
Organization Pending describes one-on-one decluttering and home-organizing support with in-person service in an area around Upper Arlington and virtual options. This is an independent provider, not an Alliance endorsement; confirm current radius, rates, availability, experience with chronic disorganization or hoarding-related situations, privacy, consent, and pace before engaging.
Time 4 Organizing describes professional home-organizing services in Columbus and its suburbs. This is an independent provider listing, not an Alliance endorsement; ask about current service area, rates, minimums, privacy, pace, and whether the person living there will be involved in decisions about belongings before scheduling.
A note from the Alliance
This guide is anchored in Columbus, Ohio, 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