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Chuck Currie papers, 1980-2002

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Currie, Chuck (Charles Stephen), 1969-
Title
Chuck Currie papers
Dates
1980-2002 (inclusive)
1990-2002 (bulk)
Quantity
2.88 cubic feet, (7 letter document cases; 2 slim letter document cases)
Collection Number
Coll 1090
Summary
Papers of Chuck Currie (1969-), an advocate for unhoused people and for low-income housing in Portland, Oregon. Most of the papers relate to his activism, including records of the organizations Burnside Advocates Group, Oregon Housing NOW Coalition, Outside In, and the Multnomah Community Action Commission. Other papers relate to political activities such as voter registration drives and Currie's work as a minister.
Repository
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Chuck Currie (born 1969) was studying political science at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon, in 1987, when he joined the board of the Burnside Community Council, an aid and advocacy organization for unhoused and low-income people in Portland, Oregon. He subsequently dropped out of Pacific University to devote more time to the issue of homelessness. After the dissolution of the Burnside Community Council in 1990, Currie cofounded Burnside Advocates Group. He also worked at Outside In, Transition Projects, and Goose Hollow Family Shelter, and served on multiple committees and commissions in local government. In 2003, he went to study at Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. As of 2025, Currie was a United Church of Christ minister and university chaplain emeritus at Pacific University.

Sources: Vital statistics via Ancestry.com; Interview, January 12, 1995, Oregonian, MetroSouth section, page 2; "Advocate for the Homeless Starts New Venture," Oregonian, December 29, 2002, page B1; "Portland will not just surrender to President Trump," Oregonian, September 14, 2025, page D3.

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Content Description

The collection consists of papers of Chuck Currie, an advocate for unhoused people and low-income housing in Portland, Oregon. The bulk of these papers relate to his advocacy work, including records of the Burnside Advocates Group, which he co-founded; and records of the Oregon Housing NOW Coalition, Outside In, and the Multnomah County Community Action Commission. Currie's papers also include correspondence with figures such as Portland Mayor Vera Katz and Portland City Commissioner Gretchen Kafoury. Other materials in the collection relate to Currie's work as a minister and to his political activism, including records of voter registration drives and materials for an interfaith sermon he delivered against the anti-gay Ballot Measure 9 in 2000. The collection also includes some photographs; most of these are of Burnside Advocates Group events or of the 1990s offices of Outside In.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Chuck Currie papers, Coll 1090, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Restrictions on Use

The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Collection contents are listed in alphabetical order by the folder title or subject, with one folder of unsorted papers at the end.

Acquisition Information

Gifts of Chuck Currie, July 2009 (Lib. Acc. 26796) and June 2018 (Lib. Acc. 29280).

Preservation Note

Researcher access to negatives in the collection is limited for preservation purposes; contact library staff to inquire about viewing.

Processing Note

Collection was lightly processed in 2025 by Jeffrey A. Hayes. Most original file folders from Lib. Acc. 29280 were retained. Titles for most folders were derived from their original labels. Some of these folders contain additional materials not described on the label.

Separated Materials

Records of the Burnside Community Council that were received with Currie's papers were processed separately as Mss 6038, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

  • Description: Acronyms for organizations and social services
    Dates: undated
    Container: Box 1, Folder 1
  • Description: Alexis restaurant
    Dates: 1993 August-September
    Container: Box 1, Folder 2
  • Description: Association of downtown churches
    Dates: 1992; 1996
    Container: Box 1, Folder 3-4
  • Description: Bank of America
    Dates: 1996-1997
    Container: Box 1, Folder 5
  • Description: Report, "Beyond McKinney: Policies to End Homelessness"; event calendar
    Dates: 1992 November; 1993 August
    Container: Box 1, Folder 6
  • Description: Bottles and Cans Campaign
    Dates: 1996-1997
    Container: Box 1, Folder 7
  • Description: Dana Brown
    Dates: undated
    Container: Box 1, Folder 8
  • Description: The Bridge School
    Dates: 1992-1998
    Container: Box 1, Folder 9
  • Description: Burnside Advocates Group records, including articles of incorporation and bylaws
    Dates: 1991-1992
    Container: Box 1, Folder 10
  • Description: Burnside Advocates Group board records and related materials
    Dates: 1992-1994
    Container: Box 1, Folder 11
  • Description: Burnside Advocates Group funds
    Dates: 1993-1994
    Container: Box 1, Folder 12
  • Description: Burnside Advocates Group website page
    Dates: 1996-1997
    Container: Box 1, Folder 13
  • Description: Burnside Group Advocates event photographs (prints and negatives)
    Dates: circa 1991-1995
    Container: Box 9, Folder 1-2
  • Description: Burnside Advocates Group and Oregon Housing NOW Coalition
    Dates: 1990-1997
    Container: Box 1, Folder 14
  • Description: Burnside Health Clinic
    Dates: 1992-1996
    Container: Box 1, Folder 15
  • Description: Burnside and Old Town neighborhoods
    Dates: 1991-1992
    Container: Box 1, Folder 16
  • Description: Business license exemption
    Dates: 1994
    Container: Box 1, Folder 17
  • Description: Campaign for New Community National Conference
    Dates: 1998
    Container: Box 1, Folder 18
  • Description: Campus Outreach Opportunity League (COOL) conferences
    Dates: 1997-1998
    Container: Box 1, Folder 19-20
  • Description: Central City Concern
    Dates: 1992-1993
    Container: Box 1, Folder 21
  • Description: Church involvement
    Dates: 1998
    Container: Box 1, Folder 22
  • Description: City council candidates night
    Dates: 1998
    Container: Box 1, Folder 23
  • Description: City-county consolidation
    Dates: 1996-1997
    Container: Box 1, Folder 24
  • Description: City-county homeless coordination
    Dates: 1994
    Container: Box 1, Folder 25
  • Description: Civil rights ordinance
    Dates: 1991
    Container: Box 1, Folder 26
  • Description: Civil rights trials
    Dates: 1996
    Container: Box 1, Folder 27
  • Description: President Clinton budget proposal for 1995
    Dates: 1994
    Container: Box 1, Folder 28
  • Description: Community Action Service Providers
    Dates: 1993
    Container: Box 1, Folder 29
  • Description: Community for Creative Non-Violence
    Dates: 1990-1993
    Container: Box 1, Folder 30
  • Description: Community Initiatives Grant Program
    Dates: 1992-1994
    Container: Box 2, Folder 1
  • Description: Community newsletters
    Dates: 1993-1997
    Container: Box 2, Folder 2
  • Description: Community Transitional School
    Dates: 1998-2002
    Container: Box 2, Folder 3-5
  • Description: Department of Housing and Urban Development proposal
    Dates: 1994
    Container: Box 2, Folder 6
  • Description: Department of Housing and Urban Development
    Dates: 1996
    Container: Box 2, Folder 7
  • Description: Department of Justice
    Dates: 1996
    Container: Box 2, Folder 8
  • Description: Domestic violence
    Dates: 1992-1993
    Container: Box 2, Folder 9
  • Description: Domestic violence funding
    Dates: 1993
    Container: Box 2, Folder 10
  • Description: Downtown Housing Preservation Partnership
    Dates: 1989-1992
    Container: Box 2, Folder 11
  • Description: Drug Free Zone ordinance
    Dates: 1991-1997
    Container: Box 2, Folder 12
  • Description: Eastside shelter
    Dates: 1996-1997
    Container: Box 2, Folder 13
  • Description: Emergency Basic Needs Committee
    Dates: 1993
    Container: Box 2, Folder 14
  • Description: Empowerment Committee
    Dates: 1993-1994
    Container: Box 2, Folder 15
  • Description: Fair housing
    Dates: 1999
    Container: Box 2, Folder 16
  • Description: Fair housing implementation report
    Dates: 1993-1994
    Container: Box 2, Folder 17
  • Description: Fair housing laws
    Dates: 1989-1998
    Container: Box 2, Folder 18
  • Description: Fair Housing Task Force
    Dates: 1993
    Container: Box 2, Folder 19
  • Description: Jim Francesconi
    Dates: 1998
    Container: Box 2, Folder 20
  • Description: Foundations
    Dates: circa 1997
    Container: Box 3, Folder 1
  • Description: Fund development mailing
    Dates: 1993 June
    Container: Box 3, Folder 2
  • Description: Funder's Advisory Committee
    Dates: 1992; undated
    Container: Box 3, Folder 3-4
  • Description: Goose Hollow Family Shelter
    Dates: 1997
    Container: Box 3, Folder 5
  • Description: Hamilton Hotel
    Dates: 1993
    Container: Box 3, Folder 6
  • Description: Hamilton Hotel replacement
    Dates: 1992-1994
    Container: Box 3, Folder 7
  • Description: Have a Heart benefit
    Dates: 1993
    Container: Box 3, Folder 8
  • Description: Have a Heart benefit photographs (prints)
    Dates: 1993
    Container: Box 9, Folder 3
  • Description: Have a Heart benefit
    Dates: 1996
    Container: Box 3, Folder 9
  • Description: Have a Heart benefit photographs (prints)
    Dates: circa 1996
    Container: Box 9, Folder 4
  • Description: Health care reform
    Dates: 1994
    Container: Box 3, Folder 10
  • Description: Health care report
    Dates: 1994
    Container: Box 3, Folder 11
  • Description: Health policy papers
    Dates: 1998
    Container: Box 3, Folder 12
  • Description: HELP proposal to Housing Authority of Portland
    Dates: 1994
    Container: Box 3, Folder 13
  • Description: Hispanic outreach proposal
    Dates: 1992
    Container: Box 3, Folder 14
  • Description: Homeless Advisory Committee agendas and minutes
    Dates: 1992-1994
    Container: Box 3, Folder 15
  • Description: Homeless Advisory Committee: Youth issues
    Dates: 1993
    Container: Box 3, Folder 16
  • Description: Homeless camping
    Dates: 1995; 1997
    Container: Box 3, Folder 17-18
  • Description: Homeless education
    Dates: 1997
    Container: Box 3, Folder 19
  • Description: Homeless Families Support Services Demonstration Program
    Dates: 1992
    Container: Box 3, Folder 20
  • Description: Homelessness and mental health
    Dates: 1992
    Container: Box 3, Folder 21
  • Description: Housing and Community Development Commission
    Dates: 1992-1993
    Container: Box 3, Folder 22-23
  • Description: Housing Investment Fund
    Dates: 1996
    Container: Box 3, Folder 24
  • Description: Housing list
    Dates: 1992
    Container: Box 3, Folder 25
  • Description: Impeachment forum
    Dates: 1998
    Container: Box 3, Folder 26
  • Description: Interfaith Homeless and Housing Coalition
    Dates: 2000-2001
    Container: Box 3, Folder 27
  • Description: Interfaith sermon in opposition to Measure 9
    Dates: 2000
    Container: Box 4, Folder 1
  • Description: KATU town hall
    Dates: 1993
    Container: Box 4, Folder 2
  • Description: Gretchen Kafoury
    Dates: 1992-1994
    Container: Box 4, Folder 3
  • Description: Vera Katz
    Dates: 1993-1994
    Container: Box 4, Folder 4
  • Description: Sister Mary Kay Lampert
    Dates: 1998
    Container: Box 4, Folder 5
  • Description: Larkin Street Youth Center, San Francisco, California
    Dates: 1992-1993
    Container: Box 4, Folder 6
  • Description: Letters, greeting cards, and related materials
    Dates: 1989-1995
    Container: Box 4, Folder 7
  • Description: Mailings
    Dates: 1990-1991
    Container: Box 4, Folder 8
  • Description: Mailing list - names to be added
    Dates: undated
    Container: Box 4, Folder 9
  • Description: McKenzie River Gathering Foundation grant application
    Dates: 1990-1991
    Container: Box 4, Folder 10
  • Description: Measure 47
    Dates: 1996
    Container: Box 4, Folder 11
  • Description: Media miscellaneous
    Dates: circa 1995
    Container: Box 4, Folder 12
  • Description: Mercy Corps
    Dates: 1997-1998
    Container: Box 4, Folder 13
  • Description: Metro housing policy
    Dates: 1998
    Container: Box 4, Folder 14
  • Description: Multnomah County Community Action Commission
    Dates: 1980-1995; 1990-1995
    Container: Box 4, Folder 15
  • Description: Multnomah County Community Action Commission letter
    Dates: 1994 February 14
    Container: Box 4, Folder 16
  • Description: Multnomah County Community Action Commission letterhead
    Dates: undated
    Container: Box 4, Folder 17
  • Description: Multnomah County Community Action Commission membership list
    Dates: 1993
    Container: Box 5, Folder 1
  • Description: Multnomah County Community Action Commission packets
    Dates: 1993-1994
    Container: Box 5, Folder 2
  • Description: Multnomah County Community Action Commission planning
    Dates: 1993-1994
    Container: Box 5, Folder 3
  • Description: Multnomah County election candidate invitations
    Dates: 1993 May 6
    Container: Box 5, Folder 4
  • Description: Photographs of mural and No on 9 signs (prints and negatives)
    Dates: 1992
    Container: Box 9, Folder 5
  • Description: National Coalition for the Homeless
    Dates: 1991-1997
    Container: Box 5, Folder 5
  • Description: National Coalition for the Homeless: Can You Spare a Dime campaign
    Dates: 1994
    Container: Box 5, Folder 6
  • Description: National Low Income Housing Coalition
    Dates: 1998
    Container: Box 5, Folder 7
  • Description: North American Street Newspaper Association
    Dates: 1997-1998
    Container: Box 5, Folder 8-9
  • Description: North American Street Newspaper Association conference in Montreal, Canada; book review
    Dates: 1996-1998
    Container: Box 5, Folder 10
  • Description: National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness
    Dates: 1992-1993
    Container: Box 5, Folder 11
  • Description: Not in My Backyard (NIMBY) report and related article
    Dates: 1992; 1994
    Container: Box 5, Folder 12
  • Description: Northwest Pilot Project
    Dates: 1992-1993
    Container: Box 5, Folder 13
  • Description: One night shelter count
    Dates: 1996
    Container: Box 5, Folder 14
  • Description: Oregon Coalition on Housing and Homelessness
    Dates: 1997-1998
    Container: Box 5, Folder 15
  • Description: Oregon Congressional delegation
    Dates: 1993
    Container: Box 5, Folder 16
  • Description: Oregon housing and homeless e-mail discussion list
    Dates: undated
    Container: Box 5, Folder 17
  • Description: Oregon Housing NOW Coalition
    Dates: 1991-1998
    Container: Box 5, Folder 18-19
  • Description: Oregon Housing NOW Coalition civil rights project
    Dates: 1997-1998
    Container: Box 5, Folder 20
  • Description: Oregon Housing NOW Coalition fund development
    Dates: 1991-1998
    Container: Box 5, Folder 21
  • Description: Oregon Housing NOW Coalition McKenzie River Group grant
    Dates: 1998
    Container: Box 5, Folder 22
  • Description: Oregon Housing NOW Coalition website
    Dates: circa 1997
    Container: Box 5, Folder 23
  • Description: Oregon Housing Trust Fund
    Dates: 1997
    Container: Box 5, Folder 24
  • Description: Oregon Shelter Network
    Dates: 1994-1996
    Container: Box 5, Folder 25
  • Description: Outreach Ministry in Burnside
    Dates: circa 1992
    Container: Box 5, Folder 26
  • Description: Outside In board and related records
    Dates: 1996-1997
    Container: Box 5, Folder 27
  • Description: Outside In: Fair housing memo
    Dates: 1993 October 26
    Container: Box 5, Folder 28
  • Description: Outside In incident reports
    Dates: 1993
    Container: Box 5, Folder 29
  • Description: Outside In photographs (contact sheet)
    Dates: 1993
    Container: Box 9, Folder 6
  • Description: Outside In photographs, including of mural (prints and negatives)
    Dates: circa 1993
    Container: Box 9, Folder 7
  • Description: Overflow youth shelter
    Dates: 1992-1993
    Container: Box 6, Folder 1-2
  • Description: Pan-Methodist study
    Dates: 1999
    Container: Box 6, Folder 3
  • Description: Parade for the Homeless
    Dates: 1986-1992
    Container: Box 6, Folder 4-5
  • Description: Parade for the Homeless photographs (prints and negatives)
    Dates: 1991-1992
    Container: Box 9, Folder 8-9
  • Description: Political essays
    Dates: 1988-1997
    Container: Box 6, Folder 6
  • Description: Portland Copwatch
    Dates: 1998
    Container: Box 6, Folder 7
  • Description: Portland Learning, Outreach & Worship letter
    Dates: 1998 May 15
    Container: Box 6, Folder 8
  • Description: Portland-Multnomah County Progress Board
    Dates: 1994
    Container: Box 6, Folder 9
  • Description: Portland Police Bureau discussions
    Dates: 1993-1996
    Container: Box 6, Folder 10
  • Description: Letter to Portland Rescue Mission Ministries
    Dates: 1991 December 26
    Container: Box 6, Folder 11
  • Description: Potluck in the Park permit
    Dates: 1993
    Container: Box 6, Folder 12
  • Description: Prisons/Schools Study
    Dates: 1998
    Container: Box 6, Folder 13
  • Description: Project Luck
    Dates: 1991
    Container: Box 6, Folder 14
  • Description: Recovery Inn
    Dates: 1991-1995
    Container: Box 6, Folder 15-16
  • Description: Regional Affordable Housing Advocates
    Dates: 1994
    Container: Box 6, Folder 17
  • Description: Religious community outreach
    Dates: 1993-1994
    Container: Box 6, Folder 18
  • Description: Resist
    Dates: undated
    Container: Box 6, Folder 19
  • Description: Fax about Royal Palm project
    Dates: 1995 February 24
    Container: Box 6, Folder 20
  • Description: Mardilyn Saathof
    Dates: 1991
    Container: Box 6, Folder 21
  • Description: Seattle plan
    Dates: 1992
    Container: Box 6, Folder 22
  • Description: Shelter reconfiguration
    Dates: 1993-1995
    Container: Box 6, Folder 23
  • Description: Report, "Snapshot of Homelessness: One Night Shelter Count in Multnomah County for November 1993"
    Dates: 1994 January 21
    Container: Box 7, Folder 1
  • Description: Spearhead concert at Outside In
    Dates: 1997-1998
    Container: Box 7, Folder 2
  • Description: Statistics on homelessness in Multnomah County
    Dates: 1993
    Container: Box 7, Folder 3
  • Description: Michael Stoops
    Dates: 1985-1997
    Container: Box 7, Folder 4
  • Description: Street Times issues
    Dates: 1991-1998
    Container: Box 7, Folder 5
  • Description: Danzia Strong
    Dates: 1993
    Container: Box 7, Folder 6
  • Description: Student Coalition for Action in Literacy Education (SCALE)
    Dates: 1992-1994
    Container: Box 7, Folder 7
  • Description: Student political groups
    Dates: 1990-1993
    Container: Box 7, Folder 8
  • Description: Supportive Housing Program application
    Dates: 1993
    Container: Box 7, Folder 9
  • Description: Thank-you letter
    Dates: 1998 May 20
    Container: Box 7, Folder 10
  • Description: These Homeless Times relaunch and certificates
    Dates: circa 1990-1991
    Container: Box 7, Folder 11
  • Description: These Homeless Times issues
    Dates: 1991-1994
    Container: Box 7, Folder 12-14
  • Description: Trip to Toronto, Canada
    Dates: 1993
    Container: Box 7, Folder 15
  • Description: Transition Projects
    Dates: 1992-1994
    Container: Box 7, Folder 16
  • Description: Twelve-point plan update
    Dates: 1991-1992
    Container: Box 7, Folder 17
  • Description: Unbalanced budget statement
    Dates: 1996 January 23
    Container: Box 7, Folder 18
  • Description: The unfinished agenda
    Dates: 1994 November
    Container: Box 7, Folder 19
  • Description: United Church of Christ
    Dates: 1992-1993
    Container: Box 7, Folder 20
  • Description: United Methodist Church
    Dates: circa 1996
    Container: Box 7, Folder 21
  • Description: U.S. Conference of Mayors Task Force on Hunger and Homelessness Conference memo
    Dates: 1993 June 24
    Container: Box 7, Folder 22
  • Description: Letter to Currie about U.S. Conference of Mayors Task Force on Hunger and Homelessness Conference
    Dates: 1993 August 18
    Container: Box 7, Folder 23
  • Description: United Way of Snohomish County (Washington)
    Dates: circa 1992
    Container: Box 7, Folder 24
  • Description: Voter registration drives
    Dates: 1992-1997
    Container: Box 7, Folder 25-29
  • Description: Trip to Washington, D.C.
    Dates: 1993 January
    Container: Box 8, Folder 1
  • Description: Welfare reform
    Dates: 1994-1995
    Container: Box 8, Folder 2
  • Description: Winter shelter
    Dates: 1994
    Container: Box 8, Folder 3
  • Description: Women's shelter
    Dates: 1999
    Container: Box 8, Folder 4
  • Description: Photographs of young unhoused people, taken by other young people (prints and negatives)
    Dates: circa 1991
    Container: Box 9, Folder 10
  • Description: Youth services report
    Dates: 1994 June 8
    Container: Box 8, Folder 5
  • Description: Assorted papers
    Dates: 1991-2002
    Container: Box 8, Folder 6

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Community-based social services--Oregon--Portland
  • Homeless persons--Services for--Oregon--Portland
  • Homelessness--Oregon--Portland
  • Social advocacy--Oregon--Portland

Personal Names

  • Currie, Chuck (Charles Stephen), 1969---Correspondence

Corporate Names

  • Burnside Advocates Group (Portland, Or.)--Records and correspondence
  • Multnomah County (Or.). Community Action Commission--Records and correspondence
  • Oregon Housing NOW Coalition--Records and correspondence
  • Outside In (Portland, Or.)--Records and correspondence

Form or Genre Terms

  • correspondence
  • photographs

Jeffrey A. Hayes
2025

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