Hoarding Behavior Program
Our peer-led Hoarding Behavior Program provides more than support—it’s a space for learning, raising awareness, and connecting with others who understand your experiences. Through support groups, 1-on-1 counseling, and practical tools, we help you navigate challenges, reduce the risk of eviction, and feel more secure at home. Together, we foster a compassionate community where individuals can share, grow, and find lasting solutions.
For more information,
Email: peersupportservices@mentalhealthsf.org
Peer Support Services Phone: 510-306-4527
What can MHASF do for me?
Listen to your situation without judgment.
Follow your lead, process, & goals.
Suggest tips, strategies, & resources.
Make 1 – 3 home visits to establish a relationship and offer support.
Accompany you to hearings, inspections, & storage spaces.
Help you connect to support groups & a larger peer community.
What can’t MHASF do for me?
Judge or criticize you.
Touch, move, or remove your possessions.
Force or set goals for you.
Help you if you do not want to be helped.
Break confidentiality.
Disregard your feelings.
Shame or guilt you about the amount of belongings you have.
Work weekends or after 5 PM on weekdays.
What is Hoarding?
Only a small percentage of hoarding behavior is visible, with most of its causes lying beneath the surface, like an iceberg.
Hoarding is a symptom of an underlying mental health condition. Blaming someone for it is like blaming a person with schizophrenia for hearing voices—it’s a manifestation, not a choice.
You are not alone.
At MHASF, we’ve been providing hoarding behavior support and services for over a decade. We help individuals find community and take steps toward change at their own pace.
85% of our hoarding behavior participants have found a decrease fear of the risk of eviction from our program.
“Do I have a problem with hoarding?”
Characteristics
People with hoarding behavior take pride in their collections.
They enjoy curating & displaying their objects.
They have out-of-control piles of items.
One may hoard animals.
When shame & guilt accompany these actions, one’s items are typically hidden away.
These items give one a sense of stability, safety, & status.
Questions I Should Consider
Do you find it challenging to discard or let go of things?
Do you have difficulty passing up a bargain, freebie, yard sale or reading material?
Are your rooms unusable for their intended purpose?
Are you embarrassed for others to see the amount of stuff you own?
Are you in financial or housing trouble because of your possessions?
Could your items pose a health, safety, or fire hazard?
CA Hoarding Referrals
PHYSICAL DECLUTTERING
Services who can aid in the disposal and organization of physical objects.
SUPPORT GROUPS
Services who can aid in the disposal and organization of physical objects.
TREATMENT GROUPS
Different groups whose facilitators teach and apply particular treatment strategies to help groups of individuals with hoarding behavior understand and manage their unique challenges. Can be clinically-based and/or peer-based.
COUNSELING
Services where a trained person confidentially listens to an individual to help them work out their own problems.
LEGAL ASSISTANCE
Organizations who offer legal advice and aid for numerous issues, including legal action taken due to hoarding behaviors.
Resources
ASSESSMENTS
Instruments to evaluate where someone with hoarding behavior is in their recovery journey both quantitatively and qualitatively.
INITIAL CONTACT
Materials for first-time interaction or early intervention. Includes letter templates, Hoarding Behavior Program contact information flyer, and more.
BEST PRACTICES / TOOLS
Proven methods and techniques that have helped people with hoarding behavior reduce acquiring, simplify sorting, and promote discarding.
LEGAL
Knowledge about legal charges, processes, accommodations, and consequences possible in the presence of hoarding behavior.
BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
Books that provide insight into the symptoms, treatment approaches, co-occurring conditions, and causes for hoarding behavior.