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State Public Affairs Committee selects Long beach volunteer to serve as co-chair

LONG BEACH – June 2010 - The Junior League of Long Beach is proud to announce that Andrea M. Gunn has completed her tenure as the 2009-2010 Co-Chair of the Junior Leagues of California’s State Public Affairs Committee (SPAC).  Ms. Gunn is the only person to hold this prestigious position from the Junior League of Long Beach since California SPAC’s inception 38 years ago in 1971.  As SPAC Co-Chair, she served as both the leader and spokesperson for SPAC, along with fellow Co-Chair Julie Elginer (Junior League of Los Angeles).

California SPAC has a rich history of advocacy accomplishments.  This year was no exception. Working with Assembly Member Pedro Nava (35^th District), SPAC sponsored Assembly Concurrent Resolution 105 (ACR 105) to designate each May as “Perinatal Depression Awareness Month” in California. The bill received tremendous bi-partisan support.

“This legislation addresses a significant women’s health and public awareness problem,” said Assembly Member Nava.  “It comes after 18 months of advocacy work by SPAC and individual Junior Leagues in California.  By naming the month of May ‘Perinatal Depression Awareness’ Month, I hope to facilitate public discussion, increased awareness and access for women and their families to important healthcare services. The Junior Leagues’ support was critical, and I thank the leaders of SPAC for their time and energy in bringing this often misunderstood issue to a wider audience.”

National studies estimate 1 in 5 women suffer from postpartum depression and related disorders -- 80% of whom go undiagnosed and untreated because they are uninsured, underinsured, or lack access to comprehensive health care.  There may be as many as 800,000 new cases in the United States each year. 

“Because many women are not adequately informed, screened or treated for Perinatal Depression, they and their infants and families suffer needlessly through this devastating medical condition,” said SPAC Co-Chair and Junior League of Los Angeles Member Julie Elginer. “Early diagnosis and treatment is critical, but that cannot happen unless women and their family and friends and clinicians and other professionals know the signs and symptoms of Perinatal Depression. Many states, including New Jersey, Oregon, Washington and Iowa, have implemented robust educational campaigns and treatment programs.  This is an important first step for California to increase awareness and reduce stigma associated with this condition.”

As passed, ACR 105 will also request the State Department of Health Care Services, the State Department of Mental Health and other private stakeholders work together to explore ways to improve women’s access to mental health care, to facilitate increasing awareness of and education about Perinatal Depression and to encourage the use of prenatal screening tools.

For their work this past year with California SPAC, Co-Chairs Ms. Gunn and Ms. Elginer were honored to receive Assembly Resolutions sponsored by Assembly Member Alyson Huber (10^th District) recognizing their commitment to volunteerism and to serving women and children throughout the state.

Ms. Gunn is an attorney with the California State University’s Office of General Counsel and serves as University Counsel for California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and California State University, East Bay.  She has been a member of the Junior League of Long Beach since 2006.

About California SPAC:

SPAC is the State Public Affairs Committee of the Junior Leagues of California, a non-partisan, volunteer organization representing 11,000 members throughout the state.  Collectively, the Junior Leagues of California contribute over $1.2 M and thousands of volunteer hours into their local communities each year. SPAC supports legislation in four focus areas: education, health, family support and domestic violence prevention. SPAC works with nearly one hundred community programs that assist women and families throughout the state.  SPAC represents the Junior Leagues of Bakersfield, Fresno, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Monterey County, Napa-Sonoma, Oakland East Bay, Orange County, Palo Alto/Mid-Peninsula, Pasadena, Riverside, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose and Santa Barbara. 

About the Junior Leagues of California:

The Junior Leagues of California are organizations of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Please find more information about the Junior League of Long Beach at www.jllb.org.

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