The driving force behind the Los Angeles Free Clinic for three decades. A tireless volunteer, West also served on the Los Angeles County commission on narcotics and dangerous drugs, and founded the clinic's fundraising arm, the Friends of the Los Angeles Free Clinic.
Over the years, she raised more than $10 million, including $2.3 million in the late 1980s for a new building for what was once described as "the hippie clinic where all the flower children gathered." The clinic now consists of three centers on Beverly and Hollywood boulevards and Melrose Avenue. West did not create the clinic, which originated in 1967. She discovered the ramshackle facility in 1971 when she drove her husband, Bernie West, to his first long-term job — writing for "All in the Family" at CBS Studios across Fairfax Avenue."I walked into the clinic and I never came out," West told The L.A. Times in 1993.
When Mimi West signed on, the clinic's staff consisted of five people, including Executive Director Lenny Somberg. A line of the sick, the elderly, strung-out street youths and the working poor waiting for free medical care stretched around the block. "I was so taken with what was happening there, how poor they were. There was never any money for rent. By 1973, West had organized the fundraising division and methodically began tapping what would become the clinic's key support base — the Hollywood entertainment industry.West devoted herself to maintaining the theme of what is one of the nation's oldest free clinics, "Quality healthcare is a right and not a privilege."
Over the years, she raised more than $10 million, including $2.3 million in the late 1980s for a new building for what was once described as "the hippie clinic where all the flower children gathered." The clinic now consists of three centers on Beverly and Hollywood boulevards and Melrose Avenue. West did not create the clinic, which originated in 1967. She discovered the ramshackle facility in 1971 when she drove her husband, Bernie West, to his first long-term job — writing for "All in the Family" at CBS Studios across Fairfax Avenue."I walked into the clinic and I never came out," West told The L.A. Times in 1993.
When Mimi West signed on, the clinic's staff consisted of five people, including Executive Director Lenny Somberg. A line of the sick, the elderly, strung-out street youths and the working poor waiting for free medical care stretched around the block. "I was so taken with what was happening there, how poor they were. There was never any money for rent. By 1973, West had organized the fundraising division and methodically began tapping what would become the clinic's key support base — the Hollywood entertainment industry.West devoted herself to maintaining the theme of what is one of the nation's oldest free clinics, "Quality healthcare is a right and not a privilege."
The driving force behind the Los Angeles Free Clinic for three decades. A tireless volunteer, West also served on the Los Angeles County commission on narcotics and dangerous drugs, and founded the clinic's fundraising arm, the Friends of the Los Angeles Free Clinic.
Over the years, she raised more than $10 million, including $2.3 million in the late 1980s for a new building for what was once described as "the hippie clinic where all the flower children gathered." The clinic now consists of three centers on Beverly and Hollywood boulevards and Melrose Avenue. West did not create the clinic, which originated in 1967. She discovered the ramshackle facility in 1971 when she drove her husband, Bernie West, to his first long-term job — writing for "All in the Family" at CBS Studios across Fairfax Avenue."I walked into the clinic and I never came out," West told The L.A. Times in 1993.
When Mimi West signed on, the clinic's staff consisted of five people, including Executive Director Lenny Somberg. A line of the sick, the elderly, strung-out street youths and the working poor waiting for free medical care stretched around the block. "I was so taken with what was happening there, how poor they were. There was never any money for rent. By 1973, West had organized the fundraising division and methodically began tapping what would become the clinic's key support base — the Hollywood entertainment industry.West devoted herself to maintaining the theme of what is one of the nation's oldest free clinics, "Quality healthcare is a right and not a privilege."
Over the years, she raised more than $10 million, including $2.3 million in the late 1980s for a new building for what was once described as "the hippie clinic where all the flower children gathered." The clinic now consists of three centers on Beverly and Hollywood boulevards and Melrose Avenue. West did not create the clinic, which originated in 1967. She discovered the ramshackle facility in 1971 when she drove her husband, Bernie West, to his first long-term job — writing for "All in the Family" at CBS Studios across Fairfax Avenue."I walked into the clinic and I never came out," West told The L.A. Times in 1993.
When Mimi West signed on, the clinic's staff consisted of five people, including Executive Director Lenny Somberg. A line of the sick, the elderly, strung-out street youths and the working poor waiting for free medical care stretched around the block. "I was so taken with what was happening there, how poor they were. There was never any money for rent. By 1973, West had organized the fundraising division and methodically began tapping what would become the clinic's key support base — the Hollywood entertainment industry.West devoted herself to maintaining the theme of what is one of the nation's oldest free clinics, "Quality healthcare is a right and not a privilege."
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