Skip to content

Listen: How A ‘Hippie Clinic’ In San Francisco Inspired A Medical Philosophy

Paintings cover the walls of the Haight Ashbury Free Clinic in San Francisco. The clinic has been a refuge for everyone from Vietnam War veterans returning home with heroin addiction to famous rock stars since it opened in 1967. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)

Fifty-one years ago in San Francisco, a small community clinic opened its doors. Its mission: to treat many of the young people who flocked to the city — who were often homeless, hungry and sick. The Haight Ashbury Free Clinic, now part of a larger network, still operates out of a second-floor office overlooking Haight Street in San Francisco, and it still helps people on the fringes of society.

Carrie Feibel of San Francisco’s KQED filed this radio story for NPR and KHN on the history of the clinic.

This story is part of a partnership that includes KQED, NPR and Kaiser Health News.

Related Topics

California Health Industry Multimedia Public Health States Uninsured