Celebrating its 20th year of grantmaking for health impact in Kosciusko County by appreciating other long standing nonprofits in the community, K21 Health Foundation provided a gift of $20,000 to Bowen Center. Founded in 1961 under the original name Four County Mental Health Clinic, Bowen Center began serving Kosciusko County, along with Marshall, Wabash, and Whitley. Their growth really accelerated under the leadership of Kurt Carlson, who has served for 30 years as the CEO of the organization. They now operate in 21 counties throughout northern Indiana, but still call Kosciusko their home.
Bowen Center offers a variety of mental health and substance use services to children, adults, and families. They range from addiction services, autism related services, court ordered services, inpatient, outpatient, transitional living services, and systems of care to name just a few. The mission of Bowen Center is to positively impact the quality of life of those we serve by providing professional, caring, cost-effective behavioral healthcare services.
K21 has been supportive in many areas of Bowen Center’s work over the years through grants. Perhaps the largest project was a grant for $150,000 to build and support a new Community Center in the Enchanted Hills area of the county. This allowed Bowen Center to offer a variety of services specific to that community based on their unique needs. K21 followed up a few years later with a grant for over $80,000 to help build a Food Pantry and food learning center to help expand what Bowen Center could offer at the Community Center location.
“It is easy to take for granted that we have one of the premier mental health organizations in the Midwest, let alone the state of Indiana, right here in Kosciusko County. It’s our pleasure to acknowledge, and help us not forget all that they have meant to our community,” said K21 President & CEO Rich Haddad. “We not only appreciate the decades of service and care that Bowen Center has provided in the mental health area for our residents, but we are also really excited about some new partnerships and community leadership they have engaged in recently. A couple of examples would be Bowen Center taking a lead role in establishing and managing a System of Care in our county, and partnering to launch the JCAP addiction treatment program in the county jail. Mental health continues to be a big issue for all ages, and we are glad Bowen Center is in our community to help and improve the lives of our residents.”
K21 Health Foundation exists for the benefit of Kosciusko County citizens to ensure health care services are provided, and to advance prevention and healthy living. For more information about the K21 Health Foundation, call (574) 269-5188 or visit www.k21foundation.org.
