Finding aid updated May 2023.
Collection is open to the public. Collection must be used in Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room. Collection or parts of collection may be stored offsite. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives in advance of your visit to allow for transportation time.
In 1969, a group of medical workers, university graduate students, energetic counter-culture members and other concerned citizens gathered to explore ways to respond to some of the fallout of the 1960s, which included a growing number of youth and young adults who felt alienated and disenfranchised from the mainstream system. Many were runaways and living on the streets, and were not likely to access the usual services available despite their needs, among which were medical, legal, mental health and substance use.
Out of this effort came White Bird Socio-medical Aid Station (later White Bird Clinic), incorporated in February 1970 as a 501(c)3 non-profit agency. With the help of many volunteers, the group was able to rent a house, staff it 24/7, train folks in crisis intervention, hold medical clinics with doctors and nurses, offer legal advice with lawyers and paralegals, and guide drug experiences in a safe and supportive way.
What began as a grassroots effort evolved over time from being an experiment to a key agency in the community continuum of care, becoming credible to the larger community and finding funding from various sources including federal, state and local governments and foundations.
Source: "About Us," whitebirdclinic.org, accessed May 2023.
The records of Eugene White Bird Clinic include documents originating around the inception of the clinic detailing boards of directors and duties within the organization, budgets, bibliographic indexes of literature related to drug and alcohol dependency recovery, annual and descriptive reports, organization philosophical framework, planning and operations documents, and other records of services. Also included are the article "The White Bird Trip" by Dennis Higman, a newspaper clipping about White Bird from the Eugene Register-Guard Emerald Empire dated 1971-01-24, and a pamphlet.