The first nonsectarian free clinic in the United States was vital to the survival of homeless and runaway hippies, back when it was founded in 1967 and for more than half a century afterward. It was founded by David Smith shortly after he graduated from medical school at the nearby University of California at San Francisco. The clinic would have not survived more than a few months after it opened in June 1967 without benefits by Bill Graham, Jefferson Airplane, and Big Brother & the Holding Company. By the early 2000s, the Haight Ashbury Free Clinics served more than 65,000 people per year.