How did we get here?

In 1989, Steve and Vivian Koob and members of their church began Elizabeth’s New Life Center (ENLC) to respond to the abortion clinic in their Dayton neighborhood. ENLC opened its first office on Five Oaks Avenue and was staffed entirely by volunteers for its first six years.

In 1994, ENLC purchased the vacant building next door to the abortion clinic on Main Street and renovated it into a Women’s Center with medical service capabilities. At this point, ENLC began a period of phenomenal growth.

The following year, ENLC opened the Mother and Child Boutique and hired its first part-time employee.

In 1999, ENLC began abstinence education with one person and one desk. In 2002, 2005 and 2008 the program was awarded highly competitive federal grants. It has grown to now serve thousands of students in several counties.

On December 12, 2000, the North Main Street abortion clinic next door closed after performing abortions there for more than 20 years. That same year, Elizabeth's New Life Center founded Holy Family Prenatal Care, now an LLC wholly owned by ENLC, to offer pregnant clients excellent prenatal care, fully supporting their decision to choose life.

About that same time, ENLC purchased and renovated the Forest-Neal Medical Building on Forest Avenue. It now holds our Administrative Offices, Women’s Center-Dayton, Holy Family Prenatal Care, a nutrition center, two babysitting rooms and a chapel that is accessible to staff, volunteers and clients alike.

In 2002, ENLC merged with the Women’s Support Center in Kettering and the Crisis Pregnancy Center for HOPE in Lebanon. They have become satellite offices: Women’s Center-Kettering and Women’s Center-Lebanon.

In 2005, ENLC experienced another year of phenomenal growth. It launched its Mobile Women's Center, opened Women's Center -Wright State Area and merged with a center in Sidney to become Women's Center-Sidney.

In 2006, resourced by a large federal grant, ENLC launched Marriage Works! Ohio, a broad collaborative, community-wide effort to provide marriage support and training to promote marriage as the healthiest and best context for raising children and building strong families and strong communities.

In 2008. we achieved a significant milestone of having ultrasound machines in every women's center, including 3D/4D ultrasound in two locations.

We are thankful. We know that our growth has truly been divinely led. We praise God for being able to see Him work in the lives of thousands of women, children, and families in the Greater Miami Valley region.