Haight Ashbury Free Clinic 1 Editorial Photo

The Haight Ashbury Free Clinic and its founder, Dr David Smith just happened to be in the right place at the right time to make a lasting legacy. Smith, who was inspired in part by his mother who was a nurse, was studying medicine and pharmacology at the near by University of San Francisco Medical Center, graduating in 1964.By the Summer of Love in 1967, he was already involved in treating the drug and alcohol problems at General Hospital when he realized there was a growing need in his own neighborhood of the Haight Ashbury. Declaring `Health care is a right`, he was able to open the clinic in a former dentist office with some money he made from a lecture, and some donation from a church. From the very first day of opening and with no advertising, there was already a line of waiting people, and not with just drug or alcohol problems. He and his staff of volunteers treaded everyone, free. Although it was closed for about a year, the clinic is still open, as seen 30 June 2022.