BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — In just under two months, the Park at Riverwalk will be full of vendors and community members gathering here to celebrate the 20th anniversary of NAMIWalks. The annual event aims to connect our local community members with resources for themselves or their loved ones who may be struggling with their mental health.
“We have a lot of things planned for this year because we want to go in big and have people smile and walk away with this feeling of belonging [to] a community that has worked together for the past 20 years.”
Sharon Woolfolk, a retired parole officer, has served as Kern County’s NAMI chapter board president for the past ten years.
NAMI Kern County announced that the theme for this year’s walk is “Together, We Are NAMIWalks.”
“That theme that we have is so encompassing as far as mental health is concerned,” Woolfolk said. “We want people to know there’s not just the individual living with mental health challenges, but it’s all of us. It’s a community working together to make things better–to make life better.”
What started two decades ago as an event with only a handful of vendors has now grown into what it is today. Woolfolk says they expect up to 40 vendors this year, and around 1,000 participants in the walk itself.
“NAMIWalks is our primary fundraiser. It is our largest public awareness event, and we look forward to it every single year because this is a time for our community to come together to have one thought in mind, and that is to make life better for those individuals living with mental health challenges,” Woolfolk said.
Ahead of the big event on Oct 17, Sharon says there are several of NAMI’s premiere mental health programs beginning in mid-September.
“We have our peer-to-peer class for individuals living with mental health challenges, our family-to-family program for family members living with mental health challenges or have a loved one living with mental health challenges,” Woolfolk said. “The other class that we have is basics. It’s for families, parents, and caregivers who have children under the age of 22 who are loooking to better understand their child who may have emotional or behavioral problems.” The NAMI Basics course is September 15, the eight-week Family-to-Family class begins September 16, and the Peer-to-Peer class is every Tuesday beginning on September 22. To register, email namikern@yahoo.com. To learn more, visit https://namikerncounty.org/programs/.
Sharon says that throughout her time working with NAMI, she’s seen their work have a tangible impact on our community.
“It has been a passion to just to see the difference the individuals who have gone through our education programs and our support groups [they] have come to me and said, ‘Sharon, you’ve definitely made an impact on my life,’” Woolfolk said.
The 20th Annual NAMIWalks is Saturday, Oct 17 from 9 a.m. until noon at the Park at Riverwalk in Southwest Bakersfield. Registration is free, but teams are encouraged to fundraise to support NAMI’s programs.
Stay in Touch with Us Anytime, Anywhere:
