Our Story
ELI-Empowered for Lasting Impact
Founded as a community development organization in 2010, ELI began as an outreach into the neighborhood to offer connection, safety, and resources. We have since expanded to serve central Alabama, offering family-centered coaching focused on four key pillars: housing, economic stability, workforce development, and healthy relationships.
Sustainable change does not happen overnight
Our belief has always been that a holistic program, focused on creating a better circumstance in multiple areas of each individual’s life, can result in long-term change. We began with a commitment to be in relationship with the families of East Lake for a minimum of 25 years and have since expanded our mission to all 99 neighborhoods. We want to serve a whole generation.
We are more than just a ministry. We are relational.
We are client-led. We take into consideration all of our clients’ personal needs, barriers, strengths, and goals for the future and commit to walking with them for 1-3 years.
Our heart is always to connect people.
We are multi-generation minded. We focus on the whole family, understanding that children and adults are interconnected.
Our communities are poised for greatness.
We are empowerment-driven. Our desire is to see every family become self-sufficient. We operate off of a self-sufficiency matrix with the goal of seeing families go from crisis to thriving.