In 2008, representatives from various agencies in Tompkins County - including the Department of Social Services, Tompkins County Mental Health, the Tompkins County Health Department, Office for the Aging, Ithaca College Gerontology, and the Mental Health Association - met to discuss the growing number of calls received by these organizations regarding hoarding issues.

In response to the need for more information about compulsive hoarding and what should be done to respond effectively, the Department of Social Services funded a day-long conference: HOARDING: Creating a Tompkins County Solution, held in January of 2009.

In May 2009, the new Tompkins County Task Force on Hoarding began meeting. 

The focus of the task force is:
  1. To gain a better understanding of hoarding in Tompkins County, and how it can be best managed.
  2. To prevent the serious consequences of hoarding:
  • evictions
  • home condemnations
  • structural damage
  • infestations
  • slipping and falling accidents due to excess clutter
  • fire hazards
  • social isolation
  • lack of access to healthy food and food preparation, bathing, bed space, and in-home services