John h. jones - 1975 (Brinley)
Dr. Jones was recognized for founding the Davis Free Clinic in April 1972.
The Clinic is currently recognized as a regional drug treatment center, helping people throughout the greater Sacramento area. It is located at 603 4th St. and receives from 800 to 1,000 visits a month from people seeking help for drug-related disorders, venereal diseases, pregnancies, family planning problems, and other health concerns.
Jones, who grew up in Arkansas, came to Davis in 1952, where he joined the medical practice of Cooper and McKinney. He gained his reputation as a rock doc in 1967 in San Francisco when he worked at the Haight-Ashbury Free Clinic helping runaways, hippies, junkies and street people who didn’t take care of themselves and had no health care.
In time, Jones realized that Davis, too, had its share of health problems. There he could also help students and migrants and anyone else who couldn’t afford a doctor. That’s when he started the Davis Free Clinic, based on his experiences at the clinic in the Haight.
According to Jones’s wife Nancy, he would spend all day at the Cowell Heath Center on campus, then go to the Davis Free Clinic evenings and on weekends he often helped out at the free clinic in Sacramento. He loved helping people who needed it the most.
In 1971 he was given the Davis Humanitarian of the Year award. A few years before his death, the John Jones Humanitarian Award was established in his honor.
Mayor Joan Poulos presented both awards at the Council Chambers Wednesday, July 2, 1975.
