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Born in New York · Built for the world

Everyone deserves a steady place to stand.

Keeping Balanced Foundation is a new charitable organization expanding access to mental-health education, support, and, once authorized, professional care for people facing financial and other barriers. We start where the need is loudest: New York City.

Founder-led by a NY-licensed social worker Independent board Transparent by design
The imbalance

The math says this should not be this hard.

Mental health struggles are universal. Access to care is not. That gap is the entire reason this foundation exists.

1 in 7

people worldwide live with a mental disorder. That is 1.1 billion of us.

WHO, 2021 data
945,000

New York City adults report an unmet need for mental health care.

NYC Health Department
15%

of New York's need for mental-health providers is met in federally designated shortage areas. The national average is 27%.

HRSA via KFF, Dec 2025

Figures reflect the most recent public data available as of August 2026.

What we're building

Programs that meet people where they are.

From free workshops to, once authorized, professional therapy. Rolled out in waves, done right at every step.

Therapy Access

Free and reduced-cost psychotherapy for eligible neighbors, once New York State authorization is in place.

Pending NYS authorization

Wellness Workshops

Stress management, coping skills, mindfulness, and emotional wellness, taught in the community.

First wave

Support & Connection

Psychoeducational and peer support groups, because nobody should carry a hard season alone.

First wave

Youth & Family

Prevention, parenting support, and early habits that keep whole families steady.

In development

Navigation & Referrals

Warm handoffs to mental-health, housing, benefits, and healthcare resources people actually reach.

First wave

Education & Outreach

Plain-language mental-health education and resources that travel: neighborhoods first, borders later.

First wave

See every program in detail

Founded by a New York licensed clinical social worker who saw the wait lists up close.
Why "Keeping Balanced"

Balance is a practice. So is hope.

A cairn is a stack of stones balanced by hand, left standing so the next traveler knows the path. That is the work: steadying people, one careful act at a time, and leaving something that guides whoever comes next.

  • Founded by a licensed clinical social worker with years inside New York's mental-health and social-service systems.
  • Programs designed with the community, not just for it.
  • Every dollar governed by an independent board, spent program-first.

Read our story

The road ahead

One foundation. Four phases.

Big visions earn trust by showing their work. Here is ours.

Phase 01

Form the foundation

New York incorporation, 501(c)(3) filing, Charities Bureau registration, independent board.

Underway now
Phase 02

Open the first doors

Workshops, support groups, education, and resource navigation across New York City.

Next
Phase 03

Bring care within reach

Free and reduced-cost therapy under New York State authorization, funded by grants and donors.

Planned
Phase 04

Carry it beyond New York

Partnerships, training, and resources built to travel, so the model can serve far past five boroughs.

The vision
How your support works

Three steps between you and impact.

1

You add your stone

Pledge a future gift today. No money moves until we are legally cleared to receive it, and you can change your mind anytime.

2

We turn belief into leverage

A full Founding Circle strengthens every grant application we file, so your future gift multiplies before it is even made.

3

New Yorkers get care

Workshops, groups, navigation, and, once authorized, free and reduced-cost therapy, with every dollar reported back openly.

Cost should never be the reason someone goes without support. That is the whole foundation, in one sentence.

Ruby Mathen, LCSWFounder, Keeping Balanced Foundation

The Founding Circle

Add your stone.

A cairn is built one balanced stone at a time. The first one hundred people to stand with this foundation will be named on our Founding Wall, permanently. We are not accepting money yet. What we are gathering is rarer: people willing to be first.

Your name Reserved Reserved Reserved Reserved

Join the Founding Circle

Watch this get built.

Occasional updates: milestones, program launches, ways to help. No noise, ever.

We will never sell or share your information.