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 Leon County.
Start here - Fight the Blight
Our virtual groups give people affected by hoarding and clutter concerns a place to connect from Tallahassee, Leon 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.
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.
The City of Tallahassee identifies 2-1-1 Big Bend as a local referral pathway for mental-health and human-services needs. Call 211 or text your ZIP code to 898-211 to ask about Leon County options, transportation, housing, utilities, food, and care navigation. Confirm eligibility, capacity, hours, and referral requirements directly.
Apalachee Center provides behavioral-health and substance-use services in the Big Bend, with a Leon County location in Tallahassee and a 24/7 Mobile Response Team. It can be a useful local doorway when hoarding concerns overlap with mental-health symptoms, crisis, housing instability, or a need for outreach. It is not a cleanup provider.
Elder Care Services offers care management for seniors and caregivers, including assessment, homemaking and companionship, nutrition, personal care, respite, and transportation. This may help build a broader safety and independence plan when age or caregiving needs are part of the situation. It is not hoarding-specific therapy or automatic free cleanup.
Leon County Human Services describes a safety-net role that connects residents to social services and short-term assistance, including emergency help with rent, mortgage, utilities, and home fuel through the Direct Emergency Assistance Program. Ask for the current intake route and documents. This is stabilization support, not hoarding-specific care.
The International OCD Foundation's hoarding directory helps people search for therapists, programs, support groups, organizers, and task forces. A directory listing is not an Alliance endorsement or credential guarantee. Ask about hoarding-specific experience, consent-based pacing, privacy, insurance, fees, and scope before choosing a provider.
Safety and stability
These pathways serve different situations. Read the labels carefully before calling, especially when a response may involve protective services, housing screening, crisis response, shelter, or emergency assistance.
Apalachee Center lists a 24/7 Mobile Response Team for behavioral-health crisis intervention in the Big Bend. Use it for an urgent mental-health crisis or concern that needs a crisis response, not for routine organizing or cleanup. Call 911 for immediate danger, fire, violence, or a life-threatening medical emergency.
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, fire, violence, or a medical emergency.
Florida's Adult Protective Services program responds to reports involving vulnerable adults, including neglect, self-neglect, abuse, and exploitation. The Abuse Hotline accepts reports 24/7. Use this for a genuine protective concern, not as a general cleanup referral; call 911 first if the person is in immediate danger.
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, behavioral-health counseling service, or cleanup provider. When the situation is not immediately dangerous, begin with Fight the Blight or a local support, care, or navigation pathway.
The City of Tallahassee describes a TEAM unit that responds to nonviolent 911 calls involving people experiencing a mental-health crisis, in partnership with Leon County and Apalachee Center. This is a crisis-response pathway, not a routine welfare-check substitute, organizer, or cleanup service. Ask the dispatcher what response is available now.
The Big Bend CoC coordinates housing-crisis response across Leon, Gadsden, Wakulla, Jefferson, Franklin, Madison, Taylor, and Liberty counties. Its coordinated-entry system assesses housing needs and connects people to outreach, emergency shelter, rapid rehousing, and permanent supportive housing. It is not a guarantee of placement; confirm the current access point and wait time.
Leon County identifies The Kearney Center as an emergency shelter and service access point for adults experiencing homelessness. Published local information describes shelter, meals, case management, health services, laundry, storage, and referrals. Confirm current intake, identification or residence rules, capacity, and household eligibility before relying on a bed.
Leon County lists HOPE Community as an emergency and transitional housing pathway for families and some single women experiencing homelessness. It is not a general shelter for every household and does not provide hoarding-specific treatment. Use its current screening process and confirm who can be served, documentation, and capacity.
Leon County identifies Tallahassee Memorial Behavioral Health Center as a local inpatient and outpatient behavioral-health resource. It may be relevant when hoarding concerns overlap with acute symptoms, psychiatric care, or a need for a hospital-based evaluation. It is not organizing or cleanup support; confirm current intake and emergency procedures.
Leon County says its Direct Emergency Assistance Program can help qualifying residents with basic necessities such as rent, mortgage, utilities, and home fuel to prevent homelessness. Funding is limited and it is not a hoarding-cleanup program. Ask for current eligibility, documents, deadlines, and whether another provider must complete the intake.
People and practical help
These listings offer connections for care, education, housing, benefits, utilities, home repair, organizing, or disposal. They are independent organizations; ask about current availability, cost, scope, consent, and safety before relying on them.
The City of Tallahassee Housing Division describes affordable-housing development, housing preservation, repair of hazards, accessibility barriers, and pathways out of homelessness. These programs can address housing stability and physical hazards, but they are not hoarding treatment or automatic cleanup funding. Confirm geography, income limits, ownership, and current funding.
City housing programs include repair and rehabilitation pathways for health and safety hazards, accessibility barriers, and some homeownership needs. The city says repair programs are intended to address hazards or code conditions, not general repainting or cleaning. Confirm the current application, inspection, income limits, and whether the property is eligible.
The City and Leon County use the Community Human Service Partnership to coordinate funding for agencies serving basic needs, rental and utility assistance, food, counseling, homelessness prevention, and crisis transition. This is a local network and funding framework rather than a single intake line. Ask 2-1-1 or the named provider about the current program.
Tallahassee Utilities lists financial-assistance pathways including LIHEAP, emergency assistance, payment help, weatherization, and utility-related programs. These supports may help preserve housing while a broader plan is made; they are not hoarding-specific services. Confirm current income limits, provider intake, documentation, and whether a shutoff notice changes the process.
The City of Tallahassee provides residential garbage, recycling, bulky-item, yard-waste, and some special pickup services within city limits. The city directs residents to separate hazardous materials and use approved drop-off or event pathways. Confirm pickup limits, curb placement, accepted materials, and any cost before moving items.
Leon County Solid Waste Management oversees curbside collection, recycling, rural waste service centers, household hazardous waste, and related disposal pathways. Use the county system for countywide guidance and confirm whether a property is inside the city or unincorporated area before choosing a facility.
Leon County's Household Hazardous Waste Center accepts many household chemicals, paints, fuels, batteries, lightbulbs, electronics, and related materials from county households at no charge. Do not put hazardous products in ordinary trash or transport unsafe containers casually. Check the current accepted-items list and call before bringing uncertain materials.
Residents of unincorporated Leon County can use rural waste service centers for household garbage, recycling, yard debris, bulky items, white goods, and limited hazardous waste. The county describes a free, level pickup-truck-size load limit and requires proof of an unincorporated address. City residents should confirm their separate service route.
The Peer Tree offers nonclinical hoarding and clutter support, including organizing help, groups, family guidance, and practical next steps. Ask about current availability, service area, scope, pacing, privacy, and fees before beginning. The Peer Tree is a separate private-pay pathway from Fight the Blight's nonprofit programming.
Unburied, from The Peer Tree, is a judgment-free digital peer-support pathway for people affected by hoarding and clutter concerns and for friends and family. It can offer ongoing connection, tools, and momentum from Tallahassee or anywhere else. It is not therapy, clinical care, or emergency support.
The IOCDF organizer directory can help identify organizers who state that they work with hoarding-related concerns. A directory listing is not an endorsement or credential guarantee. Ask about experience, consent-based pacing, privacy, item decisions, disposal practices, cost, and scope before hiring.
A note from the Alliance
This guide is anchored in Tallahassee, the county seat of Leon County, and includes city, countywide, statewide, 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