Marge Crispin, a Braintree resident, founded this center in the 1970s to help families with basic needs such as electricity, food and heat. Today, the center serves about 35 people per day. It includes the Dianne DeVanna Center and Braintree Holidays/Friends, which feature family support workers and a food pantry, respectively. The Dianne Devanna Center provides educational and material support such as mental health and substance abuse counseling and transportation and donations for families in need. A board of directors has overseen the center following the death of Crispin's husband in 1994, who had overseen the center after Marge Crispin's death in 1992. Braintree Holidays/Friends is a private nonprofit funded by donations and fees for its services.