ohy_coll1090.xml Guide to the Chuck Currie papers Currie (Chuck) papers Jeffrey A. Hayes Oregon Historical Society Research Library 2025
1200 SW Park Ave. Portland, OR 97205 Business Number: 5033065204 Business Number: 5033065240 libreference@ohs.org https://www.ohs.org/research-and-library/
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-10-06. Finding aid is written in English. Finding aid based on DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard), 2nd Edition. Oregon Historical Society Research Library Chuck Currie papers Currie, Chuck (Charles Stephen), 1969- Coll 1090 2.88 cubic feet 7 letter document cases; 2 slim letter document cases 1980-2002 1990-2002 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. English

Collection is open for research.

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

 Currie, Chuck (Charles Stephen), 1969---Correspondence Burnside Advocates Group (Portland, Or.)--Records and correspondence Oregon Housing NOW Coalition--Records and correspondence Outside In (Portland, Or.)--Records and correspondence Multnomah County (Or.). Community Action Commission--Records and correspondence Homeless persons--Services for--Oregon--Portland Homelessness--Oregon--Portland Community-based social services--Oregon--Portland Social advocacy--Oregon--Portland Portland correspondence photographs Acronyms for organizations and social services undated 1 1 Alexis restaurant 1993 August-September 1 2 Association of downtown churches 1992 1996 1 3-4 Bank of America 1996-1997 1 5 Report, "Beyond McKinney: Policies to End Homelessness"; event calendar 1992 November 1993 August 1 6 Bottles and Cans Campaign 1996-1997 1 7 Dana Brown undated 1 8 The Bridge School 1992-1998 1 9 Burnside Advocates Group records, including articles of incorporation and bylaws 1991-1992 1 10 Burnside Advocates Group board records and related materials 1992-1994 1 11 Burnside Advocates Group funds 1993-1994 1 12 Burnside Advocates Group website page 1996-1997 1 13 Burnside Group Advocates event photographs (prints and negatives) circa 1991-1995 9 1-2 Burnside Advocates Group and Oregon Housing NOW Coalition 1990-1997 1 14 Burnside Health Clinic 1992-1996 1 15 Burnside and Old Town neighborhoods 1991-1992 1 16 Business license exemption 1994 1 17 Campaign for New Community National Conference 1998 1 18 Campus Outreach Opportunity League (COOL) conferences 1997-1998 1 19-20 Central City Concern 1992-1993 1 21 Church involvement 1998 1 22 City council candidates night 1998 1 23 City-county consolidation 1996-1997 1 24 City-county homeless coordination 1994 1 25 Civil rights ordinance 1991 1 26 Civil rights trials 1996 1 27 President Clinton budget proposal for 1995 1994 1 28 Community Action Service Providers 1993 1 29 Community for Creative Non-Violence 1990-1993 1 30 Community Initiatives Grant Program 1992-1994 2 1 Community newsletters 1993-1997 2 2 Community Transitional School 1998-2002 2 3-5 Department of Housing and Urban Development proposal 1994 2 6 Department of Housing and Urban Development 1996 2 7 Department of Justice 1996 2 8 Domestic violence 1992-1993 2 9 Domestic violence funding 1993 2 10 Downtown Housing Preservation Partnership 1989-1992 2 11 Drug Free Zone ordinance 1991-1997 2 12 Eastside shelter 1996-1997 2 13 Emergency Basic Needs Committee 1993 2 14 Empowerment Committee 1993-1994 2 15 Fair housing 1999 2 16 Fair housing implementation report 1993-1994 2 17 Fair housing laws 1989-1998 2 18 Fair Housing Task Force 1993 2 19 Jim Francesconi 1998 2 20 Foundations circa 1997 3 1 Fund development mailing 1993 June 3 2 Funder's Advisory Committee 1992 undated 3 3-4 Goose Hollow Family Shelter 1997 3 5 Hamilton Hotel 1993 3 6 Hamilton Hotel replacement 1992-1994 3 7 Have a Heart benefit 1993 3 8 Have a Heart benefit photographs (prints) 1993 9 3 Have a Heart benefit 1996 3 9 Have a Heart benefit photographs (prints) circa 1996 9 4 Health care reform 1994 3 10 Health care report 1994 3 11 Health policy papers 1998 3 12 HELP proposal to Housing Authority of Portland 1994 3 13 Hispanic outreach proposal 1992 3 14 Homeless Advisory Committee agendas and minutes 1992-1994 3 15 Homeless Advisory Committee: Youth issues 1993 3 16 Homeless camping 1995 1997 3 17-18 Homeless education 1997 3 19 Homeless Families Support Services Demonstration Program 1992 3 20 Homelessness and mental health 1992 3 21 Housing and Community Development Commission 1992-1993 3 22-23 Housing Investment Fund 1996 3 24 Housing list 1992 3 25 Impeachment forum 1998 3 26 Interfaith Homeless and Housing Coalition 2000-2001 3 27 Interfaith sermon in opposition to Measure 9 2000 4 1 KATU town hall 1993 4 2 Gretchen Kafoury 1992-1994 4 3 Vera Katz 1993-1994 4 4 Sister Mary Kay Lampert 1998 4 5 Larkin Street Youth Center, San Francisco, California 1992-1993 4 6 Letters, greeting cards, and related materials 1989-1995 4 7 Mailings 1990-1991 4 8 Mailing list - names to be added undated 4 9 McKenzie River Gathering Foundation grant application 1990-1991 4 10 Measure 47 1996 4 11 Media miscellaneous circa 1995 4 12 Mercy Corps 1997-1998 4 13 Metro housing policy 1998 4 14 Multnomah County Community Action Commission 1980-1995 1990-1995 4 15 Multnomah County Community Action Commission letter 1994 February 14 4 16 Multnomah County Community Action Commission letterhead undated 4 17 Multnomah County Community Action Commission membership list 1993 5 1 Multnomah County Community Action Commission packets 1993-1994 5 2 Multnomah County Community Action Commission planning 1993-1994 5 3 Multnomah County election candidate invitations 1993 May 6 5 4 Photographs of mural and No on 9 signs (prints and negatives) 1992 9 5 National Coalition for the Homeless 1991-1997 5 5 National Coalition for the Homeless: Can You Spare a Dime campaign 1994 5 6 National Low Income Housing Coalition 1998 5 7 North American Street Newspaper Association 1997-1998 5 8-9 North American Street Newspaper Association conference in Montreal, Canada; book review 1996-1998 5 10 National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness 1992-1993 5 11 Not in My Backyard (NIMBY) report and related article 1992 1994 5 12 Northwest Pilot Project 1992-1993 5 13 One night shelter count 1996 5 14 Oregon Coalition on Housing and Homelessness 1997-1998 5 15 Oregon Congressional delegation 1993 5 16 Oregon housing and homeless e-mail discussion list undated 5 17 Oregon Housing NOW Coalition 1991-1998 5 18-19 Oregon Housing NOW Coalition civil rights project 1997-1998 5 20 Oregon Housing NOW Coalition fund development 1991-1998 5 21 Oregon Housing NOW Coalition McKenzie River Group grant 1998 5 22 Oregon Housing NOW Coalition website circa 1997 5 23 Oregon Housing Trust Fund 1997 5 24 Oregon Shelter Network 1994-1996 5 25 Outreach Ministry in Burnside circa 1992 5 26 Outside In board and related records 1996-1997 5 27 Outside In: Fair housing memo 1993 October 26 5 28 Outside In incident reports 1993 5 29 Outside In photographs (contact sheet) 1993 9 6 Outside In photographs, including of mural (prints and negatives) circa 1993 9 7 Overflow youth shelter 1992-1993 6 1-2 Pan-Methodist study 1999 6 3 Parade for the Homeless 1986-1992 6 4-5 Parade for the Homeless photographs (prints and negatives) 1991-1992 9 8-9 Political essays 1988-1997 6 6 Portland Copwatch 1998 6 7 Portland Learning, Outreach & Worship letter 1998 May 15 6 8 Portland-Multnomah County Progress Board 1994 6 9 Portland Police Bureau discussions 1993-1996 6 10 Letter to Portland Rescue Mission Ministries 1991 December 26 6 11 Potluck in the Park permit 1993 6 12 Prisons/Schools Study 1998 6 13 Project Luck 1991 6 14 Recovery Inn 1991-1995 6 15-16 Regional Affordable Housing Advocates 1994 6 17 Religious community outreach 1993-1994 6 18 Resist undated 6 19 Fax about Royal Palm project 1995 February 24 6 20 Mardilyn Saathof 1991 6 21 Seattle plan 1992 6 22 Shelter reconfiguration 1993-1995 6 23 Report, "Snapshot of Homelessness: One Night Shelter Count in Multnomah County for November 1993" 1994 January 21 7 1 Spearhead concert at Outside In 1997-1998 7 2 Statistics on homelessness in Multnomah County 1993 7 3 Michael Stoops 1985-1997 7 4 Street Times issues 1991-1998 7 5 Danzia Strong 1993 7 6 Student Coalition for Action in Literacy Education (SCALE) 1992-1994 7 7 Student political groups 1990-1993 7 8 Supportive Housing Program application 1993 7 9 Thank-you letter 1998 May 20 7 10 These Homeless Times relaunch and certificates circa 1990-1991 7 11 These Homeless Times issues 1991-1994 7 12-14 Trip to Toronto, Canada 1993 7 15 Transition Projects 1992-1994 7 16 Twelve-point plan update 1991-1992 7 17 Unbalanced budget statement 1996 January 23 7 18 The unfinished agenda 1994 November 7 19 United Church of Christ 1992-1993 7 20 United Methodist Church circa 1996 7 21 U.S. Conference of Mayors Task Force on Hunger and Homelessness Conference memo 1993 June 24 7 22 Letter to Currie about U.S. Conference of Mayors Task Force on Hunger and Homelessness Conference 1993 August 18 7 23 United Way of Snohomish County (Washington) circa 1992 7 24 Voter registration drives 1992-1997 7 25-29 Trip to Washington, D.C. 1993 January 8 1 Welfare reform 1994-1995 8 2 Winter shelter 1994 8 3 Women's shelter 1999 8 4 Photographs of young unhoused people, taken by other young people (prints and negatives) circa 1991 9 10 Youth services report 1994 June 8 8 5 Assorted papers 1991-2002 8 6