History

Origin Story

Outside In was founded in June 1968 by Dr. Charles Spray, Arnold Goldberg, and Mary Lu Zurcher as one of the first free community health clinics in the U.S. and one of the earliest on the West Coast, along with the Haight Ashbury Free Clinics and the Los Angeles Free Clinic. The organization was founded to serve Portland’s “alienated youth,” some of whom had substance use problems and most of whom had mental health issues. Outside In initially rented its Downtown Portland space from the First Unitarian Church of Portland. Dr. Spray helped found the organization after learning that the Unitarian church’s youth coffeehouse space, Charix was in danger of being shut down because of its association with the 1960s drug culture. Some of the group’s early work involved staffing a 24-hour crisis hotline that was later spun off to form the Metro Crisis Intervention Service.

Success Stories