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Laura Mecoy
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“CBS THIS MORNING” CO-HOST GAYLE KING TO MODERATE VENICE FAMILY CLINIC PANEL ON THE TRAUMA OF INCARCERATION
Susan Burton, Founder of a Reentry Program for Women Leaving Prison, and Clinic CEO Elizabeth Benson Forer to Participate in the August 14 Panel
LOS ANGELES – (August 10, 2020) – “CBS This Morning” Co-Host Gayle King will moderate an online panel discussion about the Trauma of Incarceration that Venice Family Clinic is hosting at 11 a.m. Friday, August 14, with Susan Burton, who founded A New Way of Life Reentry Project to help women released from prison, and Clinic CEO Elizabeth Benson Forer.
An accomplished television journalist, King interviews top newsmakers and delivers original reporting to “CBS This Morning” and all CBS News broadcasts and platforms. She is also editor-at-large of the award-winning O, The Oprah Magazine. King recently began hosting a live weekly radio show titled “Gayle King in the House” on SiriusXM.
For many years, Burton endured a cycle of abuse, addiction and incarceration, including six terms in prison. She eventually received behavioral health support at Venice Family Clinic along with other help and subsequently founded A New Way of Life, a nonprofit that helps other formerly incarcerated women rebuild their lives. For her leadership, Venice Family Clinic recognized Burton as one of its 50 Visionaries, which are individuals the nonprofit organization is honoring as part of its 50th Anniversary.
Burton has earned numerous awards and honors for her work, including receiving the prestigious Citizen Activist Award from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She is a recipient of both the Encore Purpose Prize in 2012 and the James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award in 2014. She is the author of a memoir, Becoming Ms. Burton, which received a 2018 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work in the category of biography/autobiography and the inaugural Goddard Riverside Stephan Russo Book Prize for Social Justice.
Forer is a social worker by training and a public health expert who has led Venice Family Clinic for the past 26 years, guiding its growth from serving about 10,000 patients a year at one location to serving nearly 28,000 patients at 12 locations. She has held numerous positions on boards, including the Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County, the California Primary Care Association and the National Association of Free Clinics. In 2016, the Durfee Foundation recognized her as an outstanding leader, and she was also chosen to be a California HealthCare Foundation Health Leadership Fellow.
“Venice Family Clinic has been a leader in recognizing the impact trauma has on health and well-being, and we appreciate that Susan Burton has been so generous in helping others understand its importance by sharing her personal story of how childhood trauma and the tragic death of her 5-year-old son sent her into a downward spiral of addiction and incarceration,” said Forer. “We are very fortunate to have Gayle King bring her expertise to a panel discussion of the far-reaching impacts of trauma on health.
To register for The Trauma of Incarceration discussion, please click here. The online discussion is the second in the Venice Family Clinic’s Health and Justice Series, which explores the intersections of justice and health. It is also one of several activities Venice Family Clinic is sponsoring during National Health Center Week 2020, which is August 9-15.
National Health Center Week is aimed at educating the public and policy makers about the vital role community health centers play in providing preventive and primary care services to almost 30 million people nationwide – most of whom would otherwise lack access to affordable, quality care.
Because of COVID-19 restrictions on people gathering, Venice Family Clinic will be hosting online events during the week, including stress management and virtual sessions in English and Spanish that will encourage its patients to get their voices heard by voting and responding to the 2020 Census. For more information, please visit: venicefamilyclinic.org/nhcw.
About Venice Family Clinic
Venice Family Clinic is a leader in providing comprehensive, high-quality primary health care to people in need. Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, the Clinic has grown from a small storefront operation into one of Los Angeles’ leading community health centers, providing care to nearly 28,000 men, women and children annually through sites in Venice, Santa Monica, Mar Vista, Inglewood and Culver City. The Clinic leads the way in providing comprehensive and integrated care by creating a one-stop health system that offers multiple services, often at the same locations and same time as primary care appointments. These services include dental care, substance use treatment, mental health services, vision screenings, child development services, health education, prescription medications, domestic violence counseling, HIV services, street medicine for people experiencing homelessness and health insurance enrollment. For more information, visit VeniceFamilyClinic.org. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.