History
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Niagara Life Centre (NLC) was founded by Donna Beckett in 1985 under the Board of Turning Point Ministries in Beamsville, Ontario.NLC began as a crisis pregnancy centre in response to the plight of young mothers with unplanned pregnancies. The clientele included young women with crisis pregnancies as well as mothers and fathers needing parenting help and emotional support. It was soon realized that those who came for our services had many more issues in their lives including: sexual abuse, addiction, relationship problems, anger, and depression. . The Centre therefore, began to provide long-term counseling for the clients emotional, mental, physical and spiritual needs.
Within a few short years the need for case workers became evident. The word spread that NLC was a place where people were accepted, loved and helped unconditionally and that all the services were free and confidential. Family members and friends of the clients were calling for our services. Referrals started to come in from Public Health nurses, Family and Children Services, Pastors and other agencies.
By 1991 the Centre’s continued growth mandated the need to move to a larger and more centrally located facility. 237 Lakeshore Rd. St. Catharines was purchased. Furthermore, to meet the growing demands throughout the Niagara Peninsula, satellite centres were opened in Fort Erie (1992), Welland (1994), Grimsby (1996), and Niagara Falls – Hannah House (1999).
Each of the centres began under the leadership of the NLC Board of Directors. Growth and support in their own communities has allowed for the independence of three locations. In 2002, the Welland satellite became independent and now operates as Elisha House. In 2010, the Grimsby Life Centre and the Hannah House Maternity Home in Niagara Falls became independent. South Niagara Life Centre (Fort Erie) continues to operate under the leadership of the NLC Board.
More recently, SNLC expanded it services to include Port Colbourne while the St Catharines centre has expanded its services with office hours 3 days a week in the Thorold community.
The need for our services remains constant. The partnerships with local Social Service agencies continues to grow. NLC is committed to meeting the needs of the Niagara community.
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