K21 Celebrates 20th Year By Honoring Bowen CenterCelebrating its 20th year of grantmaking for health impact in Kosciusko County, K21 Health Foundation provided a gift of $20,000 to Bowen Center today.
Founded in 1961 under the original name Four County Mental Health Clinic, Bowen Center began serving Kosciusko County, along with Marshall, Wabash and Whitley counties.
Its growth accelerated under the leadership of Kurt Carlson, who has served for 30 years as the CEO of the organization.
In 2018 Bowen Center operates in 21 counties throughout northern Indiana, but still calls Kosciusko home.
Bowen Center offers mental health and substance use services to children, adults and families. They range from addiction services; autism-related services; court-ordered services; inpatient, outpatient and transitional living services; and systems of care, to name just a few.
The mission of Bowen Center is to impact clients’ quality of life by providing professional, caring, cost-effective behavioral health care services.
K21 grants have supported Bowen Center’s work over the years. 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 services specific to that community. 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 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 and 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.
