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 Lancaster County.
Start here - Fight the Blight
Our virtual groups give people affected by hoarding and clutter concerns a place to connect from Lancaster, Lancaster 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 or Lancaster County Crisis Intervention at (717) 394-2631. For 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.
Pennsylvania 211 can help identify local housing, food, utility, transportation, benefits, and human-service pathways. Use it when you are unsure which program fits, then confirm current intake, scope, privacy, eligibility, and availability directly.
Lancaster County BHDS provides behavioral-health and developmental-disability system navigation, case management, and crisis intervention. Ask which intake pathway fits and whether a behavioral-health, developmental, substance-use, or family referral is the right starting point.
The county directory helps residents locate the department that matches a housing, safety, aging, behavioral-health, benefits, or human-services question. Use it as an orientation tool and confirm the current contact and intake rules with the department.
The Office of Aging helps older adults and caregivers identify services that support community living, long-term-care choices, Medicare counseling, and protective services. Ask about current intake, home-based supports, and whether an aging or protective-services referral is appropriate.
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, city code, shelter, victim 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.
Call or text 988 for confidential behavioral-health crisis support. It is not emergency dispatch, licensed therapy, or a cleanup service; call 911 for immediate danger, fire, or a medical emergency.
Lancaster County lists Crisis Intervention Services for mental-health emergencies and directs people to call 717-394-2631. Use this pathway for urgent behavioral-health support; call 911 for immediate danger, fire, or a medical emergency.
Lancaster County BHDS describes mental-health case management as a pathway for coordinating services, referrals, and ongoing support for eligible adults and children. Ask about intake, the level of case management needed, and current wait time.
CAP Domestic Violence Services offers a 24/7 hotline and text line, safety planning, safe housing, transitional housing, counseling, children’s programming, and legal advocacy. This is a confidential violence-safety pathway rather than general hoarding support; call 911 for immediate danger.
The Lancaster County Office of Aging accepts reports involving suspected abuse, neglect, exploitation, or abandonment of older adults. Reports are handled by phone, including after hours; this is a protection and investigation pathway, not a general cleanup referral.
Pennsylvania’s protective-services system covers older adults who may face abuse, neglect, exploitation, abandonment, or self-neglect. Use the county contact first when possible and confirm how an urgent or after-hours report should be made.
The city’s property-maintenance code establishes minimum requirements for the safety and habitability of buildings and housing. A report may begin a municipal process, but it is not a guaranteed cleanup, relocation, or personal-support response.
Lancaster County Emergency Management coordinates preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery for all-hazards emergencies, including hazardous-material planning. Use it for emergency-preparedness information; call 911 during an active emergency.
Lancaster County-Wide Communications is the centralized answering and dispatch point for county public-safety agencies. Use 911 for a life-threatening emergency, crime in progress, fire, or urgent medical need; it is not a hoarding-support or cleanup service.
People and practical help
These listings connect Lancaster and Lancaster County residents with county-seat government, housing, homelessness navigation, food, legal and victim support, health care, aging services, peer support, benefits, disposal, organizing, and community resources. Ask about current availability, cost, scope, consent, and safety before relying on them.
Water Street provides shelter and residential pathways for people experiencing homelessness, along with meals, case management, health and dental services, food distribution, and referrals. Lancaster County residents seeking shelter should call the Access Center to confirm current intake.
Tenfold’s TLC shelter provides temporary housing and supportive services, including help with employment, education, housing, and stability planning. Ask about current intake, household eligibility, accessibility, and whether coordinated entry is required.
ECHOS describes a low-barrier emergency shelter, an enrichment center, housing navigation, eviction prevention, permanent and transitional housing, and workforce support. The organization says coordinated entry through Pennsylvania 211 is required for case-management and program referrals.
Milagro House provides a safe residential program and support services for women and children facing homelessness, including education, life skills, case management, and mental-health supports. Ask about current eligibility and application steps.
The Lancaster County Food Hub provides groceries, clothing, and outreach connections for people experiencing poverty or homelessness. Confirm current distribution schedules, intake, household eligibility, and what other support can be accessed through the organization.
The Lancaster County Housing Authority administers rental assistance and Housing Choice Voucher programs for eligible residents outside Lancaster City. Ask about current waitlist status, income rules, emergency rental assistance, required documents, and whether city limits change the correct housing authority.
The Lancaster City Housing Authority provides public housing and Housing Choice Voucher information for eligible city households. Its application process is online and placement on a waiting list does not itself establish eligibility; confirm current openings and required updates directly.
The Office of Aging can help older adults and caregivers explore services that support independence, nutrition, home-based needs, Medicare, and long-term-care planning. Ask which assessment or information-and-referral pathway fits the household.
LUMINA describes food, clothing, education, friendship, and community work related to poverty, hardship, loneliness, and affordable housing. Ask about current food, clothing, and connection programs; this is not emergency dispatch or a cleanup service.
Bridge of Hope Lancaster serves families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness through housing-stability support and local referrals. Its resource list directs people to shelter, food, clothing, and 211 pathways; ask about current program availability and limits.
YWCA Lancaster describes emergency family shelter for single parents with children and case management for housing, employment, mental health, and related needs. Emergency Family Shelter requires prescreening and referral through CHART; call 211 to begin.
The city provides weekly curbside trash and recycling for city residents and explains set-out rules, bag limits, senior discounts, yard waste, and recycling-drop-off options. Confirm the current fee, collection rules, and what the city will accept before setting items out.
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 Lancaster or Lancaster 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 Lancaster, the county seat of Lancaster County, and includes city, countywide, regional, 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