The Flower Children of Sudbury

Abstract

In the summer of 1973 an effort was made to provide medical and social services to the hippie or counter culture population of Sudbury. Sudbury is a city of 50000 people located in Northern Ontario, Canada. Beginning in early 1973 a sizeable hippie group had developed. Because of the numerous medical and social problems exhibited by these people and their expressed unwillingness to seek help from the normal hospital and social agencies a free or street clinic was developed. The clinic was unusual in that it was free, there was no paid staff, it was informal, it was an evening clinic, and medical records were not kept. This article is a detailed description of the clinic, why and how it was organized, the medical and social problems we encountered, the work we were involved in and what we experienced and learned.