Artwork by Della Wells
courtesy of
NARSAD Artworks;
Art by and on behalf of persons with mental illness.
They called it the "Summer of Love." Young people
from everywhere descended upon San Francisco and Haight Ashbury, all
coming to "join the scene." Yet, for many of the "flower children,"
the euphoria of peace and love didn't last long. Drug problems, crime
and sexual exploitation were what they found instead.
The year was 1967. Living on Haight at that time, Dr. David Smith, who had just completed his internship at San Francisco General Hospital, was a witness to the plight of the tens of thousands who had come there. In a move contrary to popular medical convention, he opened a clinic staffed by volunteers in an apartment on Clayton Street. Such an altruistic endeavor was frowned upon by the medical 'establishment.' According to Dr. Smith, some of his teachers wondered "where he had gone wrong."
Thirty years later, the free clinic movement is, as Dr. Smith says, the "soul" of healthcare delivery. The Haight Ashbury Free Medical Clinic is now a network of 22 separate clinics, providing chemical dependency treatment, treatment of AIDS, treatment for women and psychiatric services in San Francisco's three jail facilities. Services are still provided free in the same Victorian flat where it all began. What was once a "radical" alternative has become an interim solution to providing care for those who need it in the era of shrinking budgets.
In 1967, the Haight Ashbury Free Medical Clinic was an all-volunteer effort, operating on a "shoestring" budget. Dr. Smith founded the clinic with $100 of his own money and $500 that was given to him by a local Episcopal priest. Today, the clinic has a full-time staff and 100 additional volunteers, providing 17,000 medical visits each year.
From its modest beginnings in 1969, the Drug Detoxification, Rehabilitation and Aftercare Services clinic now provides substance abuse counseling and education, medical outpatient treatment for withdrawal symptoms of addiction and residential substance abuse programs for men and women.
Also opened in 1969, the Women's Needs Center was the first free women's-health clinic in the Bay Area. Today, the center provides gynecological care and family planning as well as outreach to the community. The community program consists of street-based outreach and education with presentations in treatment facilities, shelters, halfway houses and residential hotels. Factors such as poverty, substance abuse, and sexual and physical violence strongly impact the ability of women to access healthcare. The Women's Needs Center provides a supportive and educational environment that recognizes and addresses these factors.
Founded in 1973, Jail Psychiatric Services provide mental healthcare for inmates in San Francisco's three jail facilities. The goal of this service is to reduce the psychological distress of inmates by providing comprehensive psychiatric treatment and services, including: crisis intervention, individual and group psychotherapy, medication monitoring and evaluation, post-release placement and referral services and job training.
Encouraged by rock promoter Bill Graham, Rock Medicine was founded in 1973 to provide care at concerts, community marches, fairs and other public and private events. Rock Medicine's volunteer staff of over 300 individuals provides care throughout the West Coast, with services ranging from public health and simple first aid to basic life support.
Named for Dr. David Smith and Ryan White, the young man who had done so much to raise the public consciousness regarding AIDS, the Smith-Ryan facility opened in 1994, to provide substance abuse treatment for women who are HIV positive. This facility -- staffed exclusively by women in recovery -- is a residential detoxification program, which provides non-medical early onset alcohol and drug detoxification. The Smith-Ryan facility also offers a street outreach and educational program, clothing bank and food box distribution.
"Born on rock and roll," the Haight Ashbury Free Clinics found its original funding with such creative and innovative means as concert benefits. These benefits, organized by Bill Graham, featured artists such as The Grateful Dead and Janis Joplin, as well as a host of others.
Another
surprising and progressive move during the Vietnam War came through
the Special Action Office on Drug Abuse Prevention. In what Dr. Smith
considers "the finest moment in government policy," the mandate
stated that troops returning from Vietnam could not be jailed for
"coming home addicted from a foreign and unpopular war." This paved
the way for funding and contributed to the growth of the free-clinic
movement as a whole. As a result, the Haight Ashbury Clinic, as well
as a number of community agencies around the country, began receiving
public funds. As public money becomes more scarce, such progressive
moves and innovations will be even more important. Due to the
shrinking availability of public funds, the Haight Ashbury Free
Clinics are now partially supported by private donations.
Thirty years after its inception, Haight Ashbury finds itself in the center of another failed war. Like Vietnam, America's "war on drugs" has suffered a lack of real objectives and a lack of success. In an age of dwindling funds for healthcare and a significant increase of drug use -- particularly alcohol and tobacco -- extending to the youngest members of our society, Dr. Smith feels it's time for a change. "The war on drugs has failed," according to Dr. Smith. The "war," he says, "will be won on the streets of Haight Ashbury by way of education and treatment and revitalization of the community." Treatment, Dr. Smith emphasizes, rather than imprisonment, is the direction the society needs to take -- "peace and health," not "build more jails."
The Haight Ashbury Free Clinics have always operated under the philosophy that healthcare is a right, not a privilege, and as a right it should be free, non-judgmental, demystified, available and humane. Their commitment to free healthcare has benefited over 1.1 million children, youths and adults and has left a lasting mark upon the Haight Ashbury community.
For more information regarding the Haight Ashbury Free Clinics, or to volunteer, call 415/487-3660.
© 1997 Targeted Publications Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
