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 Duluth or St. Louis 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 who are directly affected and supporters who want to learn how to provide support. People in Duluth and St. Louis County can also use current city, county, state, nonprofit, peer-support, qualified-care, housing, shelter, food, benefits, legal, 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 crisis support, call or text 988 or use St. Louis County's crisis line at 844-772-4724. For housing, food, utilities, transportation, and other basic-needs navigation, call 211 or text your ZIP code to 898-211. 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.
Minnesota's official benefits portal directs residents to 211, food help, housing and shelter referrals, behavioral-health crisis support, substance-use resources, and legal help. Use it to identify the right Duluth or St. Louis County entry point, then confirm current availability and documents.
St. Louis County describes adult mental-health intake, targeted case management, ACT and T-ACT services, crisis response, urgent care, and referral pathways. Ask what kind of assessment or support fits the situation. This is not a cleanup service or emergency dispatch line.
The county lists emergency assistance, rental-support pathways, shelters, coordinated-entry access through 211, street outreach, and housing resources. Ask about current intake, household eligibility, documents, and wait times before relying on a referral.
The county says households at risk of losing housing or experiencing homelessness should call 211 to enter the Coordinated Entry System. A housing assessor can help identify benefits, housing applications, and priority-list steps; a referral does not guarantee an immediate unit or shelter bed.
Minnesota Aging Pathways, formerly the Senior LinkAge Line, connects older Minnesotans and caregivers with health-insurance counseling, long-term-care planning, housing options, benefits, and community services. Confirm current hours and the right local referral for the person involved.
Duluth HRA provides public and subsidized housing pathways, including family housing, high-rise housing, and vouchers. An application does not guarantee a unit. Confirm current lists, income limits, reasonable accommodations, required documents, and how to update an application.
One Roof Community Housing offers housing counseling, affordable home-purchase options, renovation lending, rental resources, and a Tenant Landlord Connection program. The tenant-landlord program offers education, problem solving, and mediation but does not provide legal advice or promise resolution.
The International OCD Foundation directory can be searched for clinicians, support groups, organizers, and programs that indicate an interest in hoarding-related care. Ask about experience, licensure, fees, insurance, wait time, privacy, and whether home-based or telehealth work fits. IOCDF says it does not endorse listed providers.
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 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, counseling service, or cleanup provider.
Call or text 988 for emotional distress, suicidal thoughts, or a mental-health or substance-use crisis. 988 can provide crisis support and connection; call 911 for immediate danger, fire, serious medical emergency, or emergency dispatch.
St. Louis County lists a crisis-response line, behavioral-health urgent care, and other crisis and recovery pathways. Use this for a behavioral-health crisis rather than routine decluttering or property cleanup. Call 911 for immediate danger.
The county explains how to report suspected maltreatment of a vulnerable adult and emphasizes supported decision-making and less-restrictive alternatives when possible. Reports are not a general hoarding intervention and do not guarantee a particular outcome. For immediate danger, call 911.
Minnesota directs reports of suspected abuse, neglect, self-neglect, or financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult to MAARC. The state explains that reports may be referred to the county, Tribal agency, or another responsible agency. This is not an emergency dispatch line.
The City of Duluth provides separate forms for tenant, unlicensed-rental, and blight complaints and asks people to call Life Safety for urgent lack of heat, water, or electricity. A complaint may begin a compliance process; it is not a voluntary cleanup service or guaranteed relocation.
The City provides inspection information for building and housing concerns and explains how permit and inspection contacts work. An inspection can lead to notice, correction deadlines, or enforcement; it is not a voluntary cleanup service or guaranteed funding.
The city's tenant complaint form explains the documentation and notice expected for a complaint inspection. It is a code pathway, not a hoarding-support or emergency service. Ask about accommodations and the correct office before filing.
Justice North provides civil legal help for eligible people facing challenges involving housing, safety, health care, income, disability, or family stability. Apply to determine eligibility and current capacity; legal aid is not an emergency service or cleanup provider.
St. Louis County lists a 24-hour street-outreach hotline for concerns about someone experiencing homelessness in the Duluth area. Outreach is a relationship-based connection to services, not emergency medical response, law enforcement, or a guaranteed shelter placement.
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.
CHUM provides crisis stabilization, emergency shelter, food distribution, a drop-in center, clinic access, case management, benefits advocacy, street outreach, and longer-term housing support. Confirm current hours, household eligibility, shelter capacity, and what documents are needed.
The Damiano Center describes free programs including meals, a free store, clothing support, referrals, and other basic assistance. Specific items, hours, and capacity can change, so confirm before traveling.
Safe Haven provides a resource center and shelter for people affected by domestic violence, including safety planning, legal advocacy, support, and connections to community resources. It is not a general cleanup service. Use a safe contact method when safety is the concern.
AICHO provides Native-led housing and community services in Duluth. Its Dabinoo'Igan shelter is a culturally specific emergency domestic-violence resource, and AICHO notes that housing is handled through the St. Louis County Coordinated Entry System. Confirm safe contact, eligibility, and current capacity.
Life House supports youth and young adults with food, hygiene, laundry, showers, housing navigation, benefits and health-insurance help, wellness services, identification, education, and employment support. Confirm age, hours, and current capacity.
Union Gospel Mission describes weekday meals, drop-in access, seasonal clothing, household essentials, personal-hygiene items, and an outreach coordinator who helps connect guests with local programs. Confirm current hours and availability before traveling.
Duluth Harbor Rescue Mission describes a day shelter and basic-needs support for people experiencing homelessness, substance use, or domestic abuse, with additional programs for longer-term change. Confirm current hours, expectations, and whether the service fits the situation.
Minnesota Housing provides information about finding or paying for housing, rental assistance, housing counseling, repairs, and housing programs. It is not a direct cleanup provider or guaranteed grant source. Ask which local or regional program is accepting applications.
St. Louis County directs residents to HousingLink to search for affordable rental units by location, rent, bedrooms, building type, pets, and accessibility. A listing is not a guarantee that a unit is available or that an applicant qualifies; confirm details with the property or program.
St. Louis County directs people with disabilities and adults age 65 or older who need help to request a MnCHOICES assessment. Ask about in-home services, care coordination, support needs, and how the person can participate in decisions about their own life.
The Arrowhead Area Agency on Aging serves St. Louis County and northeastern Minnesota and contracts for services such as meals, caregiver support, transportation, and in-home assistance. Ask about current local providers, cost, eligibility, and waitlists.
Minnesota's official support-services page directs residents to the Minnesota Food HelpLine and Hunger Solutions for food resources. Ask about emergency food, SNAP screening, transportation, and current local distribution options.
The City of Duluth's housing-resources page points residents to the Duluth HRA, One Roof Community Housing, St. Louis County housing programs, AICHO, Center City Housing, and energy resources. Use it as a local map, then confirm current openings, application steps, and accommodations directly.
Resource Renew, the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District, provides a disposal guide and facilities information for garbage, recycling, yard and food waste, and household hazardous waste. Confirm accepted materials, facility hours, transportation, and fees before bringing items.
The City of Duluth explains curbside recycling and links residents to regional recycling guidance. This is practical disposal information, not a whole-home cleanup or hoarding intervention. Confirm what a hauler or facility accepts before transporting items.
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 Duluth or across Minnesota.
Unburied, from The Peer Tree, offers a respectful 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 Duluth, Minnesota, 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