TV producer’s foundation gives record-setting donation to Venice Family Clinic

The Venice Family Clinic announced Monday it has received a record $7 million donation from The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation which will be used to modernize its facility at 604 Rose Ave.

The producer of such television comedies as “The Big Bang Theory” and “Two and a Half Men” and his family foundation have contributed more than $17 million to the clinic over the past 20 years, according to clinic CEO Elizabeth Benson Forer.

The modernization plan features new team spaces for clinic staff to more effectively collaborate on all aspects of a patient’s complete care plan, Benson Forer said.

The modernized site will provide patients with easier access to services, including a ground-floor pharmacy, and a community room for fitness classes and counseling groups. The site will also have counseling rooms for visits with mental health therapists, case managers and health educators, Benson Forer said.

Programs and services at the Rose Avenue site include primary medical care for adults and children, behavioral health, substance use services, vision services, COVID-19 testing and vaccines, food distribution and health education.

“The renovation of our Rose Avenue site is a critical project ensuring that we can provide greater access to health care for our community members who are most vulnerable,” Benson Forer said.

“Our patients face complex health challenges, and it is vital that we are able to provide them with a space where they can get multiple services in an integrated way.”

The clinic describes itself as the primary source of health care on the Westside for people experiencing homelessness.

The clinic recently began a fundraising initiative called “The Power of Us” to demonstrate the collective contributions of funders to help advance greater health equity.

Gifts to the initiative, like The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation’s, will fund the clinic’s programs and services in its newly expanded service area following its merger with South Bay Family Health Care in November with a focus on addressing solutions in six areas — achieving health equity, building mental health access, controlling pandemics and epidemics, defeating homelessness, ending hunger and fighting for children.