Return to Haight, walk west to Clayton, then turn left (south) and walk a few doors down. The building at 558 Clayton looks like a normal Victorian. It is where the first nonsectarian free medical clinic in the United States opened on June 7, 1967.
The clinic was founded by Dr. David E. Smith, a 27-year-old UCSF resident, in response to what he was seeing in his ER shifts at SF General. Young people were arriving in serious medical trouble with no money, no insurance, no regular doctor, and (often) no idea what they had taken. Smith opened the clinic with volunteer staff. They saw more than 400 patients in their first week.
The Free Clinic invented a model that has been copied around the world: nonjudgmental treatment, harm reduction, addiction care, no questions about ability to pay. It was the first place in the United States to take addiction seriously as a treatable medical condition rather than a moral failing. Smith and his colleagues went on to write the foundational textbooks on addiction medicine.
The original walk-in clinic at 558 Clayton operated continuously for 52 years. It closed in July 2019 when its medical services moved to HealthRIGHT 360’s main location on Van Ness and Mission. The building at 558 Clayton is still in community use. The Homeless Youth Alliance holds drop-in hours here on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, offering snacks, medical care, and a needle exchange.