1894
Episcopal Community Services of San Francisco (ECS) traces its origin to the Mission of the Good Samaritan, a small relief center at Second Street, the first community welfare undertaking of the Episcopal Diocese of California. Under the leadership of the Reverend William Kip III, the center offered services for the needy and a boys’ night school “to counter the life of a homeless boy living on a dollar and a half a week”. After the Reverend Kip died of consumption in 1902, the center was renamed Canon Kip Memorial Mission in his honor.

1906
The Canon Kip Memorial Mission was destroyed by the earthquake and fire, but it was the first diocesan entity to reopen. Shortly thereafter, its work was divided, with the clinic and day nursery staying on at Second Street and the boys’ school and immigrant services continuing on to constitute the Mission of the Good Samaritan at 25th and Potrero Streets.

1944
The Canon Kip Mission, renamed the Canon Kip Community House, moved to a new site at 8th Street and Natoma, where under the leadership of the Reverend Henry Ohlhoff, it expanded its clinic, nursery, and food and clothing distribution, eventually adding youth recreation and senior services.

1975
Canon Kip Community House extended its services to the elderly residents of SOMA’s now primarily Filipino immigrant neighborhood in addition to maintaining its high quality youth programs.

1983
Grace Cathedral began sheltering 40 homeless adults nightly in the basement of the Cathedral, with the support of many volunteers from Grace, St. Mary the Virgin, and other Episcopal parishes. The shelter became known as the Episcopal Sanctuary and moved to Canon Kip Community House.

1986
The Episcopal Sanctuary expanded and moved to its present location at 8th and Howard, where it continues to serve 200 homeless adults nightly.

1989
The Canon Kip Community House and the Episcopal Sanctuary merged to form Episcopal Community Services of San Francisco. After the Loma Prieta earthquake (which damaged Canon Kip Community House), ECS doubled the number of shelter beds by opening MSC-North (later called Next Door Shelter) and partnering with the San Francisco Interfaith Council to create the Interfaith Winter Shelter.

1994
Construction was completed on the new Canon Kip Community House, the first new-construction supportive housing facility in San Francisco. The new building housed 104 formerly homeless adults as well as the Canon Kip Senior Center and the new Skills Center for homeless adults.

1997
ECS began a culinary training program, Conquering Homelessness through Employment in Food Services (CHEFS) as part of the Skills Center.

1999-2000
ECS partnered with the City of San Francisco to provide housing and services for formerly homeless adults at three SRO hotel properties in SOMA and the Tenderloin.

2002
ECS developed and opened Canon Barcus Community House, a model supportive housing site with 47 units for homeless families, a childcare facility, an afterschool program, case management, and many support services.

2004-2005
ECS master-leased five SRO hotels as part of San Francisco’s “Housing First” program, enabling more than 577 homeless adults to gain the stability and safety of a home.

2009
ECS opened Bishop Swing Community House, a green building with 134 efficiency units for formerly homeless adults and an array of supportive services. The new building brings the total of ECS’s supportive housing units to 838, providing permanent homes to over 1,000 men, women and children.

2011
Today ECS embraces four program areas serving nearly 12,000 homeless and extremely low-income, men, women and children. Its programs include supportive housing, shelter, services for seniors and the disabled, and adult education and vocational training.