Get Help

Help for myself or my family

What the Foundation can help with now

The Foundation's current program is Mental Health Access. Through it, the Foundation can:

• Help you understand whether a psychological evaluation may be the right next step, and how to reach one.
• Help you navigate toward therapy that fits your family's needs and budget.
• Share plain-language information and bilingual resource guides on childhood anxiety, ADHD, trauma, stress at home, and where to turn locally.
• Where charitable funding allows, help reduce the cost of an evaluation or treatment for a family who cannot otherwise afford it. This is limited, decided case by case, and never guaranteed.

Who it is for

Families in Central Texas, for a child, a teen, or an adult, where cost or confusion about the system is standing between you and care. You do not need a referral or a diagnosis to reach out. If you are outside Central Texas, the resources are for you too, and the Foundation will point you to national directories.

What the Foundation cannot do

• It is not a crisis service and cannot respond to emergencies.
• It is not a healthcare provider. Evaluations and therapy are delivered by licensed professionals, including partner practices.
• It cannot guarantee funding, services, or a particular outcome. The Foundation is newly formed, and what it can offer depends on available funds and partner capacity.

How to reach out

Email howdy@carrygoodforward.com. A short message is enough. It helps to include:

• The general area where you live (city or county).
• Whether the support is for a child, a teen, or an adult.
• What you are looking for: an evaluation, therapy, information, or you are not sure.
• Whether cost is the main barrier, and whether you have insurance.
• Your preferred language.

Please do not send medical records, diagnoses, or other sensitive personal information in a first email. The Foundation will ask for what it needs if it is able to help.

What happens next

A member of the Foundation team will respond by email. Depending on your situation, that may mean sharing information and resources, helping you understand your options, or discussing what the Foundation may be able to do. The Foundation does not publish or share information about the families it hears from.

Helping someone else

If a relative, friend, student, or neighbor needs an evaluation or therapy and cost is in the way, the most useful things you can do are simple.

• Share this page with them, or with the parent or caregiver if the person is a child. The decision to reach out should be theirs.
• Help them write the first email, if they want help. The list under Myself or my family shows what to include.
• If you write on their behalf, do so with their permission, describe the situation in general terms only, and do not send their medical or personal records. The Foundation will follow up with the family directly.
• If the person is in danger, do not wait for an email reply. Call 911, or call or text 988 for an emotional or suicidal crisis. To report suspected abuse or neglect of a child in Texas, call 1-800-252-5400.

Two guides many families find helpful to read together: When a family may consider psychological testing and Why psychological testing is hard to access, and what to do.

Professionals and organizations

Counselors, teachers, pediatricians, therapists, case workers, and community organizations are usually the first to notice that a family needs more than they can afford. Here is how to work with the Foundation.

• Refer a family. Give the family this page, or email howdy@carrygoodforward.com with a general description of the need. Please do not send protected health information; the Foundation will contact the family with their consent.
• Request resource kits. Bilingual mental health guides for your families, as they are available.
• Host a caregiver workshop. You provide the room and the invitation; the Foundation brings a licensed clinician and the materials.
• Clinicians: see Healthcare Providers for how practices can refer, host, or contribute.

Details for schools, clinics, and organizations are on Community Partners. All partnerships are voluntary, agreed on together, and respect the privacy of the families involved.