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 Janesville and Rock County.
Start here - Fight the Blight
Our virtual groups give people affected by hoarding and clutter concerns a place to connect from Janesville, Rock County, and other southern Wisconsin 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 or review Rock County crisis services. For shelter, food, and basic-needs navigation, review Wisconsin 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.
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.
Rock County Human Services connects residents with crisis intervention, outpatient mental-health and substance-use services, economic support, ADRC, and protective services. Ask which division fits the concern and what eligibility or documentation applies.
Rock County Crisis Intervention serves people of all ages experiencing a mental-health or alcohol-or-drug-related emergency. Staff provide phone support, in-person assessment, crisis stabilization, and connection to treatment, housing, and economic resources.
The Aging and Disability Resource Center helps older adults, adults with disabilities, caregivers, and families understand benefits, housing, long-term-care choices, nutrition, transportation, and support services. Ask for options counseling based on age, disability, consent, and safety needs.
NAMI Rock County offers peer, family, and educational support for people living with mental-health conditions and the people who care about them. Current meeting schedules and group formats can change, so confirm directly.
HealthNet offers behavioral-health telehealth to enrolled medical patients, bilingual counseling, and service navigation for underserved Rock County residents. Ask about enrollment, current appointment availability, and what services are available through the clinic or a partner.
The Rock County Counseling Center serves adults who are uninsured or cannot access appropriate private behavioral-health care. Services include assessment, therapy, case management, medication management, substance-use treatment, and peer support with sliding-fee options.
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.
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, 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.
Crisis staff provide phone and in-person assessment, crisis planning, short-term stabilization, and links to behavioral-health or substance-use care. The county says walk-in crisis support is available at the Dr. Daniel Hale Williams Resource Center, but call first when travel or safety is complicated.
Rock County APS accepts concerns about abuse, neglect, self-neglect, and financial exploitation involving an older adult or adult with a disability. A clutter or fire concern may require a broader safety plan; it is not itself proof of abuse.
Wisconsin DHS explains how to report suspected abuse, neglect, self-neglect, or financial exploitation to the county where the adult at risk lives. Use the county route for Janesville and Rock County and ask about emergency response when needed.
YWCA Rock County provides a 33-bed confidential shelter, basic needs, case management, community advocacy, and safety planning for people fleeing intimate-partner violence. Call or text the 24-hour helpline; call 911 for immediate danger.
G.I.F.T.S. provides a local shelter route for men experiencing homelessness. Confirm current availability, eligibility, intake hours, accessibility, and what personal items or identification may be needed before traveling.
Rock County Human Services maintains a current list of emergency shelters and transitional programs, including routes for unaccompanied youth, domestic-violence survivors, veterans, and families. Call before traveling because programs have different intake and eligibility rules.
Janesville Housing Services administers rental assistance and maintains information about subsidized housing. The city currently reports that the rental-assistance waiting list is closed and that the program does not provide emergency housing; check for future openings and other local routes.
Rock County's Communications Center lists a 24-hour non-emergency number for public-safety concerns that do not require immediate emergency dispatch. It is not a hoarding-support or social-service intake line, so use the county or 211 pathways for planned help.
Rock County Behavioral Health offers substance-use screenings and help connecting with treatment, overdose-prevention information, recovery resources, and related care. Call 911 for an overdose or immediate medical emergency.
The Community Support Program can include treatment, medication support, case management, employment or school help, and other services for people who meet program criteria. Ask about the assessment, Medicaid or BadgerCare eligibility, and any sliding-fee option.
People and practical help
These listings connect Janesville and Rock County with housing, homelessness navigation, food, behavioral health, benefits, transit, youth and veteran housing, peer support, and community resources. Ask about current availability, cost, scope, consent, and safety before relying on them.
Rock County and the Southern Consortium help residents apply for FoodShare, BadgerCare, Medicaid, child-care support, and related benefits. Applications and changes can be handled online, by phone, by mail, or in person; ask what documents are required.
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.
ECHO helps low-income families with food, temporary housing, rent or lodging assistance, transportation, case management, and essential items. Programs may have wait lists, surveys, residency, income, or funding limits, so call before relying on a specific service.
ECHO's pantry check-in is listed as 9-11 a.m. Monday through Friday, with a first-come limit and one visit per household per calendar month. Bring current mail for adults in the household and confirm the current eligibility and food-supply details directly.
New Life Food Pantry is open Tuesday evenings and welcomes people with a stated need, with photo ID required. It provides groceries as available and specifically notes that it does not provide housing, rental assistance, hotel vouchers, or gas cards.
Little Free Pantry Rock County lists small, community-supported pantry locations where people may take what they need or leave what they can. Supplies are not guaranteed, and locations can change or be damaged, so check the current list before traveling.
Rock County publishes current food-resource materials with pantry, meal, mobile-pantry, WIC, FoodShare, and senior-nutrition options. Use the directory to identify a possible route, then confirm hours, identification, residency, registration, and dietary accommodations directly.
Janesville Transit operates fixed-route service inside Janesville and connects with Beloit. Check current route maps, service hours, fares, accessibility, and service alerts before planning a trip to a pantry, shelter, clinic, or housing appointment.
Janesville Transit offers paratransit for people who cannot use the fixed-route system because of a disability. Certification is required; the city lists a $3 per-ride fare and advance reservations through Massas Transportation. This is planned transit, not emergency transport.
Wisconsin Housing Search helps residents look for available rental housing and housing resources. Listings do not guarantee that a unit is open, affordable, accessible, or a fit, so confirm directly and ask about reasonable accommodations.
Rock County maintains housing-authority information and clearly notes that housing authorities are not emergency homeless shelters. Janesville's rental-assistance list is currently closed; use the county shelter directory for immediate housing needs and check for future openings.
Rock County identifies Project 16:49 as a transitional-housing route for unaccompanied youth, with independent-living, employment, tenant, safety, and support-network skills. Confirm age, referral, house placement, and current capacity directly.
Rock Valley Community Programs operates a Janesville transitional-housing pathway for veterans with single-suite housing and supportive services. Confirm veteran eligibility, referral requirements, accessibility, and current availability before traveling.
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 Janesville or across Rock 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 Janesville, 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