Harbor House Maternity Home & Elizabeth Pregnancy

Harbor House Maternity Home

Harbor House Maternity Home and Elizabeth Pregnancy Services have been established and operate with the belief that it is the obligation of the "church" body, that is, individual believers who make up the body of Christ and are trying to be obedient to Him, to take care of those in need. More specific to our call, we are about the promotion of the sanctity of human life. It is our stated purpose to do whatever we can within our abilities to facilitate the pregnancy of any women who desires to carry her baby to term. This purpose has been achieved over the last five years by a loving staff made up, until just recently, entirely of volunteers.

The story of Harbor House began with Karla Eberle, who at 16, after spending several months in a maternity home in upstate New York, placed her newborn son for adoption. In 1990, now married and with a family of her own, she felt God call her to assist girls who might need the same help which she had received as a pregnant teen. A group of people caught her vision and came together to purchase on land-contract a vacant hospital building in Celina, Ohio. The structure required major renovation, which took nearly four years to complete. Much of the renovation was done by volunteer labor or was donated by area contractors. Harbor House was licensed by the state in November 1994, and on December 31 the first teen moved in.

In the 15 months since, Harbor House has been home to 23 different girls in need of assistance. Many of these girls came from homes where there was little love. Many had experienced sexual or physical abuse. All since have been shown the love that Jesus Christ was showing when he said, "Let the little children come, and do not forbid them."

This love is experienced as the girls become a part of a family when they arrive at Harbor House. Doug and Karla Eberle, as house parents, attempt to bring each new girl into a family setting where God is at the center, and the home is a place where mutual respect for one another is balanced with loving discipline and boundaries. One of the desired outcomes of each stay is a teen who better understands her own gifts and abilities, and who knows her value in God's eyes. She will be less likely to become involved in sexual relationships and more likely to rely on and have confidence in her abilities to achieve goals such as college and career.

The teens who stay at Harbor House are counseled by an enthusiastic and encouraging pool of volunteer counselors. The decision whether to parent their child or place for adoption is carefully weighed. Each girl is unique in her situation, and the counseling is likewise. Once a decision is made, the counseling is designed to prepare the teen to face the realities of the decision; either choice is a difficult one.

While at Harbor House, the girls also receive all necessary medical attention from our staff obstetrician/gynecologist, instruction is given on Lamaze techniques, and each girl is also involved in a comprehensive parenting course, whether she decides to parent or not.

The girls also continue their high school education during their stay, as volunteer teachers come into the home and work one-on-one with them or in small groups. This provides for individualized instruction that would likely not be available in a conventional high school setting.

Everything that is Harbor House, its people and the home itself, has been provided through the gifts of God's people. No public funding is used to supplement what individuals, churches, businesses and private foundations have provided for operating the home.


If you would like more information on the programs and services of Harbor House, you may contact us at:

Harbor House
P.O. Box 357
Celina, OH  45822
(419) 586-5941
fax:  (419) 586-7468
harborhs@bright.net

Elizabeth Pregnancy Services

Elizabeth Pregnancy Services is designed to support women of all ages who find themselves in an untimely or problem pregnancy. EPS offers free pregnancy tests, adult referral housing, a 24-hour hotline, factual information about pregnancy, abortion and fetal development, an abstinence promotion program, adoption care and support, referrals to other pregnancy professionals, and a program for obtaining free maternity and baby items.