Karen participates on a teams of five (made up of one mental health provider, two family members and two patients) conducting a 10-week course to mental health providers in Orange County CA. It offers the providers a rare personal view of the lived experience of mental illness, leading to a better understanding of this challenging human story, and prepares them to work corroboratively with patients and families to foster recovery. .

In September 2009, the panel that Karen was on during the summer of 2009 was asked to make a presentation about the course at Patton State Hospital. Patton is a forensic hospital for the mentally ill who have been convicted of a crime; all inmates are there by order of a judge, and are not released unless a panel determines release would not be a safety risk to the community. Some inmates never leave.

The NAMIgoes team is an enthusiastic team made up of Family to Family class members, their families and friends. All who participate and/or sponsor a team member are proud to support this critical and awesome charity.

NAMIWalks are held in over 69 cities across America, have attracted more than 70,000 individual walkers/supporters, securing over 1,000 corporate and business sponsors and raising over $6,500,000 last year. If you are interested in participating or sponsoring a walker, you can do so online at www.namiwalksoc.org. Click on the Walk Teams link on the left, then scroll down and select Namigoes. From here you can join the team or sponsor me for this worthy cause.