The collection consists of the records of the Burnside Community Council, an aid and advocacy group for unhoused and low-income people in Portland, Oregon. The records represented in the collection fall into three main groups: administrative records, which are the largest group and include papers of BCC staff members; records relating to events, fundraising efforts and grants; and records relating to properties that the council owned or operated, including the Baloney Joe's shelter, the West Women's Hotel and Emergency Shelter (later the West Women's and Children's Shelter), and the Eastside Community Clinic. Staff members represented in the collection include leading figure Michael Stoops, executive director Richard Meyer, Cindy Banzer, Michael Kaplan, Beverly "Ma" Curtis, Gene Ediger, Sue Elwood, and one-time Eastside Community Clinic director Neal Rendleman. The collection also includes newsletters that the council produced, including BCC Pipeline, Hobo News, and These Homeless Times; photographs; press releases; clippings; and public service announcements in audio and video form.

The collection also includes records of other organizations, including the United Way of Columbia-Willamette, of which BCC was an agency; and the Junior League of Portland, which undertook a grant project for the West Women's and Children's Shelter.