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 Hawaiʻi County.
Start here - Fight the Blight
Our virtual groups give people affected by hoarding and clutter concerns a place to connect from Hilo, Hawaiʻi County, and other communities. We can help you think through what is happening and what kind of next step may fit.
Call 911 for a medical emergency, fire, or immediate threat. For behavioral-health crisis support, call or text 988. For Hawaiʻi resource navigation, call 211.
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.
Call or text 988 for a behavioral-health crisis, suicidal thoughts, emotional distress, substance-use concerns, or worry about a loved one. Hawaiʻi CARES also lists a statewide toll-free line; call 911 for immediate danger. This is not a cleanup or housing-placement service.
Aloha United Way 211 can help locate current housing, shelter, food, utility, health, disability, legal, transportation, and other basic-needs resources. It is a navigation pathway, not emergency dispatch or a guarantee that a provider has an open bed or appointment.
The county Office of Aging and Hawaiʻi County Office on Aging connect older adults, people with disabilities, and caregivers with local information and services. Ask about in-home supports, caregiver resources, transportation, benefits, adult day programs, and accessibility.
Hawaiʻi Island Community Health Center operates clinics including Hilo and provides medical, dental, and behavioral-health services. It also lists insurance-enrollment assistance and a sliding-fee discount based on income and household size; ask about current access, transportation, and the right care team.
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.
Safety and stability
These pathways serve different situations. Read the labels carefully before calling, especially when a response may involve protective services, crisis response, fire and life safety, county or state housing, shelter, domestic-violence advocacy, behavioral-health support, 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.
Hawaiʻi CARES connects people with crisis intervention, behavioral-health services, and substance-use treatment or recovery support. Call or text 988, or use the statewide toll-free number listed by Hawaiʻi Adult Mental Health; call 911 for immediate danger.
Hawaiʻi Adult Protective Services provides crisis intervention, investigation, and emergency services for vulnerable adults who may be abused, neglected, financially exploited, or seriously endangered through self-neglect. Use the statewide reporting line and call 911 if someone is in immediate danger.
The county Fire Prevention Branch conducts fire and life-safety inspections of existing buildings and structures and provides a county fire-safety pathway. An inspection or correction process is not a guaranteed cleanup, relocation, or support service; call 911 for an active fire or immediate danger.
Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense and Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency provide alerts and preparedness information for hazards that may affect Hilo, including storms, flooding, volcanic activity, and other emergencies. Sign up for local notifications and follow official instructions; call 911 for immediate danger.
The Hawaiʻi Police Department identifies domestic-violence services, victim assistance, and local shelter and legal resources for Hawaiʻi County. This is a violence-safety pathway, not general hoarding support; call 911 if someone is in immediate danger.
The Hawaiʻi State Judiciary lists the Hilo domestic-abuse shelter hotline as a local safety contact. Call to discuss immediate safety, shelter access, and advocacy; it is not a general housing or cleanup service, and 911 remains the emergency route.
HOPE Services Hawaiʻi asks people to register with its team before admission to its shelters and lists housing-focused programs across Hawaiʻi Island. Contact the Hilo office during business hours to ask about shelter, outreach, rental assistance, respite, and current eligibility; call 911 for emergencies.
The county housing office describes work on emergency-shelter capacity and a coordinated resource hub at the former Hilo Memorial Hospital focused on housing stabilization, behavioral health, workforce readiness, and wraparound services. Ask what programs and entry points are currently open.
People and practical help
These listings connect Hilo and Hawaiʻi County residents with county-seat government, housing, homelessness navigation, food, legal support, health care, aging and disability navigation, peer support, organizing, and community resources. Ask about current availability, cost, scope, consent, and safety before relying on them.
The county Office of Housing and Community Development administers Housing Choice Voucher and related programs for low-income households. The Hilo Section 8 office supports applications, inspections, participants, and landlords; confirm current waitlist status, reasonable accommodations, and eligibility directly.
HOPE Services Hawaiʻi is a local nonprofit housing and support provider with a Hilo office and programs that may include outreach, shelter, rental assistance, respite, and permanent supportive housing. Ask about current program fit, documentation, accessibility, and whether there is an open intake.
The Food Basket is the federally designated food bank for Hawaiʻi County and offers a current Find Food Now pathway for pantries, soup kitchens, and emergency food near you. Confirm the Hilo location, distribution schedule, household rules, transportation, and any required information before traveling.
Legal Aid Society of Hawaiʻi provides civil legal assistance, including housing, consumer, public-benefits, and family-law matters. Ask about current Hilo intake, eligibility, language access, disability accommodation, and whether the issue is within scope; legal aid is not emergency response or cleanup.
Hui Mālama Ola Nā ʻŌiwi is the Native Hawaiian Health Care System for Hawaiʻi Island and provides medical, behavioral-health, community-education, and access services. Ask about current Hilo programs, cultural supports, insurance or eligibility, and care coordination.
Hale Naʻau Pono is a nonprofit behavioral-health and social-service organization with a Hilo location and programs for children, adults, and families. Ask about current case management, behavioral-health, family, and community supports; services are not emergency dispatch or a cleanup program.
The Hawaiʻi Island Community Health Center provides behavioral-health and integrated community care, with insurance-enrollment help and sliding-fee discounts based on income and household size. Ask about new-patient access, care coordination, privacy, transportation, and the right level of care.
The county aging system helps older adults, people with disabilities, and caregivers connect with information and community services. Ask about in-home help, caregiver support, transportation, benefits, adult day services, and safety or accessibility concerns that need another agency.
The state homelessness office maintains a current help page with Hawaiʻi Island shelter, outreach, mental-health, food, and housing pathways, including HOPE Services Hawaiʻi. Use it to identify a route, then confirm registration, eligibility, location, transportation, and capacity directly.
The Hawaiʻi Public Housing Authority administers public housing and voucher programs, including neighbor-island pathways. Check current Hilo or Hawaiʻi County application instructions, waitlist status, reasonable accommodations, and required documents rather than assuming availability.
Kumukahi Health and Wellness describes Kūpaʻa as a peer-led and community-based project supporting mental-health literacy, workshops, support gatherings, and connections to additional services. Ask about current Hilo gatherings, privacy, accessibility, and fit; it is not emergency care.
Hōʻala I Ka Mana describes peer support and connections to trusted providers for people navigating mental-health challenges or substance-use recovery. Ask about current Hilo-area access, cultural supports, privacy, and whether the situation needs a crisis or clinical pathway instead.
Hawaiʻi Behavioral Health Connection provides a statewide starting point for finding culturally grounded behavioral-health support. Ask about Hilo-area providers, licensure, cost, insurance, wait time, home-based or telehealth fit, and the difference between clinical care and peer support.
Hawaiʻi’s official resident-services portal points to legal, family, public-benefit, food, shelter, mental-health, and community supports. Use it to identify a government pathway and confirm current application methods, documentation, accessibility, and eligibility.
The county Fire Prevention Branch provides a public-safety pathway for fire and life-safety concerns in existing buildings and structures. Ask what jurisdiction and process apply, and remember that an inspection does not itself provide cleanup, storage, relocation, or ongoing support.
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 support is available in Hilo or Hawaiʻi County.
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 Hilo, the county seat of Hawaiʻi County, and includes countywide, islandwide, 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 county or state 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