South Bay Community News

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Mental Health Awareness Month

Inside What’s Happening Around Town… ………………………..….2 Local Government……..…….3 Business & Finance ...……...4 Education & Sports...……...5 Arts & Entertainment……...8 Health & Wellness...……...10 Church News………………….11

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On Thursday, May 18 at 10am, Brigitte Williams-Champion will follow a tradition that dates back to 1885, when William W. Lowe became the first postmaster of Long Beach. Williams-Champion will raise her right hand to be sworn in as the new and first female postmaster of Long Beach at the Michelle Obama Library, 5870 Atlantic Ave. As postmaster of Long Beach, Williams-Champion is responsible for the management of postal operations in the 90744–90815 ZIP codes, which consist of 16 post offices, stations and branches in Long Beach. She oversees 728 employees who provide service to 63,000 street addresses and 14,846 post-office boxes. Long Beach is 50 square miles in area and is home to more than 460,000 people, making it the 7th largest city in the state of California. “I’m proud to represent the postal service and the community,” Williams-Champion said. “One of my postal goals that I thrived for since the beginning of my postal career was to become a postmaster over a large city.” The oath Williams-Champion will take is the same taken by members of Congress and other federal employees, with the exception of a president. The wording of the federal employee oath dates back to an amendment made in 1861 to the 1789 Oath Act, the first bill passed by the U.S. Con-

gress. Williams-Champion began her postal career in 1981, as a part-time flexible carrier at the main office station (formerly Florence station) in Los Angeles. She served in numerous management positions in the Los Angeles District, including manager of Sanford, Mar Vista, Downtown Carrier Annex and Commerce Station. She also served as the postmaster in Inglewood and Redondo Beach. She was appointed as postmaster of Long Beach on Dec. 10, 2016. She completed her undergraduate studies at Cal State LA. She holds a bachelor of arts degree and a master’s degree in business management from the University of Phoenix. She also has a special certification in human resource management. She is a member of the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce and is currently the recording secretary for the Arthur Ash Tennis Club.

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“people with mental illness” as if they are a foreign group few of us ever ay is Mental Health Awareness Month, and organiza- encounter. The reality is that mental illness is so common—so common, tions across the nation will be drawing attention to in fact, that a recent study claims that it’s a life unmarred by mental illthe various—and often-surprising—way mental ill- ness that’s the real anomaly. ness affects people’s lives. This May, a number of new research findings According to the study, which followed people ages 11-38 and tracked highlight the need for increased understanding of, empathy for, and their mental health, a mere 17% avoided mental illness. Forty-one perrespect of people facing mental health issues. Consider the following. cent had a mental health condition that lasted for many years. FortyMental Illness is ‘Normal’

two percent had a short-lived mental illness. This suggests that, sooner People with mental health issues have long felt that they are different or later, mental illness becomes an issue for most people. Depression, from others. Indeed, discussions of mental illness tend to speak about anxiety, and substance abuse were the most common diagnoses in the study. (Continued on page 10) 1