Radio Hall of Fame Inductee, multimedia mogul, and best-selling author, Charlamagne Tha God, was awarded the distinguished Emma L. Bowen Humanitarian Medal, during a gala celebration at Lume Studios in New York City, on Friday, November 18, 2022.

“The Humanitarian Medal recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to individuals with the same passion and zeal as our late founder, Mrs. Emma L. Bowen” said Patricia C. Jordan, Bowen Center Board Chair. “Like Mrs. Bowen, Charlemagne has dedicated himself to helping individuals face mental health issues by overcoming the numerous stigmas surrounding mental health, especially in minority communities, so they can effectively overcome their struggles to lead productive lives.”

Held at Lume Studios in Downtown Manhattan, the Humanitarian Awards event was a celebration of the evening’s honorees and Bowen Center clients, who shared their struggles with mental health illness and addiction and explained how the Bowen Center was pivotal in helping them to overcome their challenges.

In addition to awarding the Humanitarian Medal to Charlamagne, the Bowen Center presented its Community Leadership Awards to Wanda Matos of Ponce Bank and Luis Laboy, of Acacia Network for their extraordinary commitment to supporting individuals and businesses throughout The Bronx and Upper Manhattan. And as a surprise at the end of the evening, the Bowen Center presented an additional Humanitarian Medal to its long-term Board Chairperson, Patricia C. Jordan, who has been with the organization since it’s inception, and was the successor to her longtime friend Mrs. Bowen.

The Emma L. Bowen Community Service Center has provided accessible mental health, addiction treatment, and supportive services to the Harlem community and beyond from one convenient location, since 1986.

Bowen’s vast array of programs and services includes a therapeutic preschool, one of only a few programs in the City of New York that works primarily with African American/Black and Latino preschoolers struggling with mental health illnesses, developmental delays, autism and emotional trauma; outpatient mental health services for children and adolescents; programs for adults & seniors dealing with mental health and addiction recovery challenges; a Clubhouse program that provides support for its seriously mentally ill members and provides training to enable individuals to return to work and constructively participate in the community; a care management team that provides advocacy and supportive services to clients and home-bound individuals citywide; a 20-bed residential addiction recovery facility (located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan), and a food pantry program that provides more than 80,400 packages of emergency food relief monthly to individuals who are experiencing financial difficulties.

Photo credit: Sergio Tupac Uzurin / NativeNYVideo