Doni Glover Show, 4.15.22: Harlem’s Corinthia Benison discusses providing mental health services to the Harlem community.
Corinthia Love Benison is a native New Yorker and R.C.M.’s founder. Growing up in Harlem, Corinthia saw first-hand the impacts of substance abuse and violence within her community. She grew up in a single-parent household with two other siblings. Throughout her childhood, she found refuge through participation in youth programs like The Harbor for Girls and Boys and S.C.A.N. Reach for the Stars. While therapy was not a service that was available, the programs in her community offered her a safe space to foster positive social interactions with peers where she developed her passion for basketball.
Corinthia’s enrollment in the ‘Reach for the Stars’ program provided a unique opportunity for her to attend boarding school on a full scholarship. She left the concrete streets of NYC at 14 years old, and The Holderness School became a home away from home. The drastic change in her environment was extremely challenging. Corinthia was the only African American female in her class, but she persevered and graduated from Holderness school in 2005 where she went on to obtain a full athletic scholarship at the University of Delaware.
Before returning to New York City to work in the healthcare field, Corinthia studied political science and government. Corinthia’s 10-year experience as a Healthcare professional has helped her to solve problems creatively and use tact and diplomacy to find common ground and achieve win-win outcomes. She worked her way up at the Mt. Sinai Hospital as a Patient Coordinator for in-patient and out-patient departments. Her work ethic and leadership skills have positively affected business performance.
Corinthia drew inspiration from her early childhood development, professional, and life experiences. Drawing inspiration from her resilience to overcome past pains, traumas, and life’s curveballs she understands the importance of community programs, mentorship, and resources.
With a decade of professional experience, and the technical expertise and soft skills she cultivated in healthcare, Corinthia established R.C.M. to ensure that the youth of Harlem benefited from the same support that enabled her success. She values ethics, tact and diplomacy, and a natural passion for law, equality, and justice, endeavoring to seed these attributes in R.C.M.’s participants.
Watch full video on YouTube