Description
History
To address the thousands of adolescents and young adults that were streaming into San Francisco for the cultural revolution of the 1960’s, Haight Ashbury Free Clinics (HAFC) opened its doors in 1967 as the first free medical clinic in the country. During the first week of operation over 400 patients were seen. HAFC has been an innovator in delivering primary health care services to many of the people who can least afford them. "Health Care is a Right, Not a Privilege" has been the guiding principle as well as its famous tagline.
Walden House was founded in 1969 in the same Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco to help homeless and runaway adolescents with substance use disorder problems. Today, Walden House treats people with mental health and substance use disorder problems at various residential and outpatient centers throughout California, including in-prison treatment programs, and facilities in San Francisco and Los Angeles, providing drug and alcohol treatment and mental health, vocational and housing services for people transitioning back into their communities. Like HAFC, Walden House has always served people who are uninsured, homeless and socio-economically disenfranchised, including those with HIV/AIDS.
Today
Haight Ashbury Free Clinics and Walden House have both grown over the years, becoming national models for community healthcare, substance use disorder treatment and mental health services. The organizations merged on July 1, 2011 to best serve the most vulnerable members of our community.
On July 1, 2012, Haight Ashbury Free Clinics - Walden House adopted a new name: HealthRIGHT 360.
With facilities in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and the Central Valley, the organization is one of the largest healthcare nonprofits in California. HealthRIGHT 360 provided direct services to 23,911 individuals in the year that ended June 2013, most of them uninsured and facing additional challenges from homelessness, incarceration, or poverty.
Asian American Recovery Services joined the family of HealthRIGHT 360 programs in 2013. Founded in 1985, the organization grew to serve tens of thousands of people throughout San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties, providing prevention, outreach, intervention and treatment services, and also engaging in education, research and advocacy.
In 2014, North County Serenity House of San Diego County and Women's Recovery Association of San Mateo County added their programs to HealthRIGHT 360's array of gender responsive services for women and women with children. HealthRIGHT 360 now offers over 50 programs in seven California counties.
