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 or housing concern.
Start here · Fight the Blight
Our virtual groups give people affected by hoarding and clutter concerns a place to connect from San Jose 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 a behavioral-health crisis, call or text 988 or call 800-704-0900.
First conversations
You do not need to know the perfect service name before reaching out. These organizations can help you identify a next step.
211 Bay Area connects people in Santa Clara County with housing and homeless services, food, health care, mental health, transportation, legal assistance, and other local pathways. Calls are confidential and available in multiple languages.
This voluntary county service provides screening, assessment, crisis intervention, referral, and short-term treatment for adults experiencing a behavioral-health crisis. It is not a hospital or a substitute for emergency medical care; call ahead about the current location, eligibility, and access details.
Safety and stability
These pathways serve different situations. Read the labels carefully before calling, especially when a response may involve an investigation or emergency dispatch.
The County helps older adults, dependent adults, and disabled adults pursue safety and independence. Adult Protective Services receives reports of abuse or neglect, including situations involving self-neglect. This is a protective-services pathway, not a routine decluttering service. For immediate danger, call 911; the 24-hour APS report line is 800-414-2002.
The City can receive requests involving blighted or unmaintained properties, junk and debris, substandard housing, and other code concerns. This is a government enforcement pathway—not a support group or cleanup service—and the City says immediate danger should be directed to 911.
The City’s tenant resources explain repair requests, housing-code inspections, rent-stabilization matters, disputes, and eviction-help pathways. Tenants can request an inspection when conditions may be unsafe or substandard; ask the City or a legal-aid provider which path fits the situation.
The County’s housing system includes shelter referrals, homelessness prevention, housing problem-solving, coordinated entry, and supportive housing pathways. Eligibility varies by program; use this when clutter or other pressures are connected to housing loss or homelessness risk.
People and practical help
These listings are included because they offer a specific local or regionally useful connection. They are independent organizations; ask about current availability, cost, and approach.
Santa Clara County’s Zephyr Self-Help Center offers personalized peer support for behavioral-health questions and connections to local resources. The current county listing shows weekday hours, but schedules can change, so confirm before visiting.
The Office of Family Affairs offers family navigation, one-to-one support, education, referrals, and family-oriented recovery groups. It is broader behavioral-health support rather than a hoarding-specific program, but it can help families decide what kind of next conversation or service may fit.
NAMI Santa Clara County offers free peer-led support groups, family support, education classes, and peer mentorship. These programs are not hoarding-specific, but they may be useful when mental-health strain, isolation, or family stress is part of the picture.
The City provides residential junk pickup and publishes the current accepted-item and set-out rules. This can help with a planned, person-led next step for specific items; it is a disposal pathway, not a hoarding intervention or room-by-room support service.
A private professional-organizing provider serving San Jose and the South Bay. Ask about rates, minimums, privacy, pace, and whether the work will involve the person living there in decisions about what happens next.
The Peer Tree is the private-pay pathway for situations that need organizing, sorting, decluttering, deep cleaning, or support for friends and family beyond grant-funded options. Ask directly about current service area, scope, availability, and cost.
Unburied is a judgment-free digital peer-support pathway for people affected by hoarding and clutter, including friends and family. It is not therapy or emergency support, but it can offer connection and ongoing momentum from home.
A note from the Alliance
A listing here does not mean Fight the Blight endorses every provider or can guarantee availability. We will keep reviewing this page, but please confirm details directly before relying on them.
Need help choosing a path? Contact Fight the Blight