A Hoarding Alliance local resource guide

Hoarding support in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

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 Forrest County.

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

Start here - Fight the Blight

You do not have to be in Mississippi to begin with us.

Our virtual groups give people affected by hoarding and clutter concerns a place to connect from Hattiesburg, Forrest County, 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 a medical emergency, fire, or immediate threat. For behavioral-health crisis support, call or text 988.

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.

Qualified community mental-health, substance-use, developmental-disability, and crisis-care pathway - Forrest County and the Pine Belt region; intake and service rules apply

Pine Belt Mental Healthcare Resources

Pine Belt Mental Healthcare Resources is the Mississippi Department of Mental Health community provider for Region 12, including Forrest County. Ask about current services, payment, insurance, age range, consent, and whether outreach or mobile crisis is appropriate. This is qualified care, not a hoarding cleanup provider.

Peer-led family and recovery-support connection through Mississippi’s NAMI affiliate network - Pine Belt area; schedules and group availability vary

NAMI Pine Belt

NAMI Mississippi lists NAMI Pine Belt among its local affiliates and support pathways. Support groups are peer-led and educational rather than therapy, emergency response, or a cleanup service. Confirm current meeting schedules and the area served before relying on a listing.

Local referral and coordinated-entry information for housing, shelter, food, crisis, and basic needs - Hattiesburg and the Southeast Mississippi region; assessment and capacity rules vary

Hattiesburg Homeless Resource Directory

The City of Hattiesburg publishes a local resource directory and coordinates with the Southeast Coalition on Homelessness and the Hub City Homeless Outreach Team. Ask for a housing assessment and current referral options rather than assuming a shelter or program has space.

Qualified-care and support search - National directory with Hattiesburg and telehealth possibilities; providers self-report, payment and licensure rules apply

IOCDF Hoarding Resource Directory

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 current experience, licensure, fees, insurance, wait time, privacy, and whether home-based or telehealth work fits.

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 protective services, crisis response, domestic-violence advocacy, homelessness outreach, or emergency dispatch.

Immediate danger and emergency dispatch - Hattiesburg and Forrest County; use for fire, medical emergency, violence, or immediate threat

911 Emergency Services

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.

Mental-health and substance-use crisis support - Mississippi and nationwide; free, confidential, 24/7 support

988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline

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.

Statewide mental-health, substance-use, developmental-disability, and mobile-crisis navigation - Mississippi; 24/7 crisis response, provider, and eligibility rules apply

Mississippi DMH Helpline and Mobile Crisis

The Mississippi Department of Mental Health lists a 24/7 helpline and mobile crisis teams for situations where behavioral-health needs exceed a person’s available resources. The Hattiesburg-area provider is Pine Belt Mental Healthcare Resources. This is crisis and care navigation, not cleanup or guaranteed emergency transport.

Protective-services reporting for vulnerable adults facing abuse, neglect, self-neglect, or exploitation - Mississippi private-home settings; reporting and investigation criteria apply

Mississippi Adult Protective Services

Mississippi Adult Protective Services investigates qualifying allegations involving vulnerable adults in private-home settings and connects people to needed services. The program identifies self-neglect as one possible concern, but APS is not a cleaning service and may not fit every clutter situation.

City homelessness coordinator, outreach, coordinated-entry assessment, and CIT or mobile-crisis connection - Hattiesburg; assessment, safety, and capacity rules apply

Hattiesburg Homelessness and Crisis Navigation

The City of Hattiesburg describes a weekly outreach team that connects people to housing and basic resources. Its guidance directs people in behavioral-health crisis to 911, a Crisis Intervention Trained officer, or Pine Belt’s mobile crisis team. This is a navigation pathway, not a guaranteed shelter placement.

24-hour crisis line, confidential emergency shelter, counseling, transportation, case management, and advocacy - Hattiesburg and 11 southeastern Mississippi counties; safe-contact and shelter-capacity rules apply

Domestic Abuse Family Shelter

DAFS operates a secure, undisclosed emergency shelter in Hattiesburg for people fleeing domestic violence and their children. Call the crisis line for safe planning, shelter connection, counseling, and referrals. This is a specialized safety resource, not general hoarding support.

People and practical help

Housing, shelter, food, legal help, repairs, disposal, and ongoing support

These listings offer connections for care, housing, shelter, food, benefits, utilities, repairs, disposal, legal support, organizing, or peer support. They are independent organizations; ask about current availability, cost, scope, consent, and safety before relying on them.

Public housing for eligible low-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities - Hattiesburg; waiting list is currently closed indefinitely, and the agency does not administer Section 8 vouchers

Hattiesburg Housing Authority

The Hattiesburg Housing Authority manages public housing at three locations and states that its waiting list is closed indefinitely because of excessive wait times. It does not administer a Section 8 voucher program. Confirm current status, reasonable accommodations, and other housing-authority options directly.

Shelter, meals, bathrooms, showers, laundry, job search, health screenings, housing assistance, and ID support - Hattiesburg; hours, capacity, and intake rules apply

Fieldhouse for the Homeless

Fieldhouse for the Homeless describes a 24-hour Hattiesburg facility serving people experiencing homelessness with shelter and practical services. Confirm current availability, household arrangements, transportation, belongings, and eligibility before traveling.

Hot meals, food assistance, emergency assistance, residential recovery, and practical support - Hattiesburg; program capacity, eligibility, and intake rules vary

Christian Services

Christian Services provides meals and emergency assistance in Hattiesburg and describes additional recovery and self-improvement programs. Ask about current food, financial, housing, and recovery support and what documents or referrals are needed.

Free emergency and supplemental food for eligible households in Forrest and nearby counties - Hattiesburg; income, household, ID, hours, and holiday rules apply

Edwards Street Fellowship Center Food Pantry

Edwards Street Fellowship Center provides emergency and supplemental food at no cost to households in Forrest and several neighboring counties. Its current guidance says no appointment is needed, but applicants should bring photo ID and household and income information. Confirm hours before traveling.

Free civil legal assistance for eligible low-income residents, including housing and other civil matters - Hattiesburg office serving Forrest and surrounding counties; screening and capacity rules apply

Mississippi Center for Legal Services

The Mississippi Center for Legal Services provides free civil legal assistance to eligible low-income residents and lists a Hattiesburg office serving Forrest County. Call the intake line before a court or housing deadline and confirm the current case types and eligibility requirements.

Community-action referrals for utility bills, housing costs, and other basic needs - Mississippi; income, local-agency, funding, and documentation rules apply

Mississippi DHS Community Services

Mississippi DHS Community Services partners with local Community Action Agencies that may help eligible households with utility bills, housing costs, and other basic needs. Funding and local intake vary. Ask which agency serves the Hattiesburg address and what is currently open.

CDBG and HOME housing-repair, emergency-repair, public-service, and related assistance - Hattiesburg city limits; income, ownership, geographic, application-period, and funding rules apply

City of Hattiesburg Community Development

The City of Hattiesburg describes homeowner-occupied rehabilitation and emergency-repair programs among its Community Development activities. Some programs have limited application periods or depend on annual funding. Confirm whether a current program applies to the property, household, and repair need.

Weekly curbside garbage, trash, heavy-trash, bulky-item, and special-pickup pathway - Hattiesburg city limits; placement, schedule, fee, and hazardous-material rules apply

City of Hattiesburg Garbage and Trash

Hattiesburg provides weekly curbside garbage and trash service and describes heavy trash as bulky items that cannot fit in the regular cans. The city says hazardous waste, tires, glass, chemicals, and other excluded materials are not accepted. Confirm pickup timing and special-pickup rules before setting items out.

Building, inspection, neighborhood, code-enforcement, and property-safety pathway - Hattiesburg city limits; inspection, notice, and enforcement rules apply

City of Hattiesburg Residential and Code Enforcement

The City of Hattiesburg lists code enforcement and residential services for property, building, and neighborhood concerns. This is a regulatory pathway that can create deadlines or enforcement costs; it is not consent-based hoarding support or guaranteed funding. Ask about the appropriate department before filing a complaint.

City work-order and issue-reporting pathway for garbage, heavy trash, recycling, water, sewer, and other concerns - Hattiesburg; address, category, and municipal-response rules apply

Hattiesburg Action Line

The city’s Action Line opens work orders for garbage, trash, recycling, water, sewer, and other reported concerns. Use it for municipal service coordination, not as a substitute for emergency response, protective services, or a voluntary support plan.

Private-pay hoarding support, organizing help, groups, and family guidance - broader service area; scope, cost, scheduling, and travel rules apply

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 requested support is available in Hattiesburg.

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.

A note from the Alliance

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

This guide is anchored in Hattiesburg, the county seat of Forrest County, and includes city, countywide, statewide, national, nonprofit, 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