Kathy Walker
Kathy Walker has a Masters in Social Work, is a registered social worker, and worked as a mental health case manager for 15 years. She’s taught social service students at the Community College level. She’s currently a Director and Secretary of the board of a nonprofit agency newly formed to develop supportive housing for people with serious mental illnesses. It was begun by family caregivers who feel isolated within the current mental health system. Recently, she’s trained as a group facilitator of the Strengthening Families Together Program for the Schizophrenia Society of Ontario. She’ll be facilitating family psycho-educational groups in her community. She’s a single parent and mother of a son with schizoaffective disorder. Even though she is a social worker, she has experienced difficulties communicating with service providers who diminish her input regarding her son’s care. She is using her maiden name to protect her son’s identity.