History

In 1977, ERSCC's founder, Esther Sanger, dared to be compassionate. Having survived months in the hospital with a life-threatening illness, Esther felt called to a new purpose. A former nurse, wife, and mother of three children returned to college at the age of 54. She earned her social work degree and began her new role as a social worker in Quincy. Daily, she met people who, because of life's crises, were overwhelmed and hopeless, hungry, and homeless. Many times, she found that few resources existed. During the evenings and weekends, little help was available for those in crisis. 

Esther began to put handwritten signs all over the city telling people who had no one to call that they could call her. "Need a friend? Call Esther," they read, and written on these was her home telephone number. People started calling. 

Esther answered the calls 24 hours a day. She responded to people's physical needs by bringing food and blankets from her home, using the family's camper van. She listened to people in pain as they dealt with a variety of issues and helped them move toward a better future. She told community leaders about the social issues she encountered, issues that were largely ignored at the time. Esther was a voice for those who seemed to have no voice.

As others joined Esther in expressing their compassion in tangible ways, an agency (Quincy Crisis Center, Inc.) was formed. Through this agency, thousands received help and hope. Esther created each of the programs of the Quincy Crisis Center (QCC) as a direct response to the needs of the community. With exceptional creativity, Esther responded to the unmet needs of the community and inspired many to join her in the effort. Part of the mission always seemed to be not just meeting the need, but calling upon others to meet the need. In this way, advancing a culture of compassion has always been at the heart of the organization. 

Early on, Esther sensed a deep burden for the homeless. At the time, there were no shelter beds in Quincy, so Esther informed the Quincy Police that they could call her and she would provide a place. Homeless men and women slept on her couch and in the camper van in her driveway. By 1980, in response to a growing awareness of the needs of hungry and homeless people in Quincy, Esther began driving her camper van, which she called Faith I, through Quincy Center each evening, making frequent stops whenever she recognized a friend who was homeless on the city streets. She offered counsel and food to those who needed it. In 1982, the number of people who were homeless in Quincy Center had grown to where it became impractical to drive to each person. To serve more people in less time, Esther parked her van in one place and shared a meal and friendship with anyone who came. This Faith Meal was one of the many developing programs of the Quincy Crisis Center. 

To raise awareness, Esther parked her van in front of Quincy City Hall, serving at 6 PM Monday through Friday and at 2 PM on Saturday and Sunday. During 1985, Esther procured and retrofitted an RV, christened Faith II. (Faith I continued in service making emergency grocery deliveries to families in need.) Faith II was a customized 28-foot RV capable of feeding 20 people at a sitting. By the beginning of 1986, the number of those being fed had grown to more than 70 per day.

In the spring of 1986, Covenant Congregational Church invited Quincy Crisis Center to park Faith II in their church parking lot. Day after day, for almost five years, QCC provided food to the hungry and homeless of Quincy Center from the parking lot behind the church. As many as 125 people per day were being fed from Faith II—men, women, and children. Faith II also provided overnight shelter for the homeless. Initially, the RV was the only homeless shelter in Quincy and served 12-14 homeless men each night. With the opening of Father Bill's around that time, Faith II became a shelter for homeless women and children. This ministry grew and expanded into what eventually became the Mary-Martha Learning Center, a shelter for homeless women with children.

During the last week of January 1991, Faith II was vandalized and burned beyond repair by an arsonist.  At the invitation of Pastor Kirk Johnson, Quincy Crisis Center made a partnership proposal to Covenant Congregational Church. QCC was invited to move indoors at the Covenant Congregational Church to resume the hot meal program and to develop an elder drop-in program. In August 1991, the Faith Covenant Elder Drop-in Center began. Quincy Crisis Center provided a meal for the homeless at noon and conducted the Elder Drop-In Center from 1:00 to 5:00 PM. The Elder Center ended in 1995, but the Faith Covenant Meal program continued.

Over 100,000 meals were served during the eight years that Covenant Congregational Church hosted the Faith Covenant Meal. Covenant Congregational Church provided the space, while other area churches and businesses provided the food through the QCC Meal-a-Month Program. Many area churches across denominational lines gave invaluable resources and volunteers during this time. 

After Esther's death in 1995, the membership of Quincy Crisis Center, Inc. voted to rename the agency The Esther R. Sanger Center for Compassion in her memory. Her vision and passion remained. In a speech Esther wrote for those healing from the death of a loved one, she said, "The greatest gift to your beloved is your promise to them of always being lovingly remembered through understanding and caring for others." 

With Esther's passing and her home becoming unavailable, the ministry to the homeless found itself homeless. In 1998, a building in North Quincy was purchased that continued to provide food storage space, offices for the ERSCC's administrative needs, and program space for the Crisis Hotline and Food for Families services. In December of 1999, ERSCC was invited by United First Parish Church ("The Church of the Presidents") to move the Faith Covenant Meal to their fellowship hall and kitchen in the heart of Quincy Center.

Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, much of the scope of compassionate ministry and nonprofit work changed significantly. ERSCC continued to serve through the hot lunch program, MMLC, the crisis hotline, and a growing food home delivery program. But the headwinds of a changing nonprofit industry brought significant challenges of funding and administration. Programs were slowly cut throughout this time. In 2014, the leadership and board of Friends of the Homeless of the South Shore, Inc. came along to try and partner and rebuild ERSCC. In the end, all external operations were shuttered in 2019. 

However, it seemed to make sense to maintain the organization on paper for a number of reasons not the least of which was ERSCC's history and wellbeing & trust in the community after almost four decades of service. In 2023, ERSCC merged with another nonprofit (Pilgrim Lodging, Inc.). Pilgrim Lodging existed from its founding as a real estate holder for nonprofit purposes, namely for the support of Friends of the Homeless of the South Shore. At the point of merger, a new board was formed and now oversees the resurrection of the nonprofit. As ever, the mission is still yet to advance a culture of compassion.

ERSCC now exists to inspire, support, and resource compassionate nonprofits and ministries. This picture is still coming into focus, but the ERSCC Board hopes and anticipates releasing further specifics in early 2025.