Isaiah 117 House Rutherford County Program Coordinator AlLee Dauenhauer. Photos by Laura Lindsay

The Tennessee organization Isaiah 117 House has purchased and furnished a home in Rutherford County, where children will be able to go until they are placed with foster families. This means children who get removed from their homes won’t have to sit in the DCS office waiting on their foster families anymore.

The Isaiah 117 House will hold its ribbon-cutting on April 23, said AlLee Dauenhauer, program coordinator of Isaiah 117 House Rutherford County.

Individuals, churches and businesses—mostly in Rutherford County—paid for the home and furnished it in its entirety through donations. Now, up to seven children can stay in the home at one time as they await more permanent living situations.

Isaiah 117 House has a mission to provide temporary housing that is a comfortable place for children. It started with a single home in East Tennessee, and now operates other homes in Tennessee and Indiana with groups raising awareness and collecting funds to construct many more in Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Ohio and Texas.

“When children are here, staff from DCS is here, along with our Isaiah 117 House volunteers,” Dauenhauer said.

The Isaiah House is decorated in bright colors with a backyard, a deck, snacks, comfy blankets and a bathtub with bath toys.

“Our living room area is really cozy with a lot of toys and things like that,” she said. “This is changing what it looks like when a child enters foster care.

“At the DCS office, when foster children are waiting for a family, there is no bed, there is no way for them to take a bath, there is no washer and dryer—it is just office space,” Dauenhauer continued. “That’s why we build these homes, so the children don’t have to wait in office spaces. So they can wait here instead and feel comforted.”

The new home also has a visitation space, so instead of meeting at a public place like a restaurant or park, children will now be able to meet with their biological families at the home, which Dauenhauer said puts more dignity into the process. The visitation space can also serve as a studio apartment when more teenagers are staying at the home, she said. Each room in the house was sponsored by a community member or organization.

“We also have a kitchen where we can cook meals, do projects and have a lot of fun,” Dauenhauer said. “We have a laundry area so we can actually wash the things they come in with. And we even have a little book nook where they can kind of get cozy and read a book if they want to have a safe space to calm down.

The home has a screened-in porch and a backyard where the kids can play.

“And upstairs, we have the giving room. This room has all the stuff that we give to the foster kids. The community has donated all of this,” the program coordinator said. “Sam’s Club has given us diapers and wipes. So when a child gets here they have everything they will need for the first several days. Everything they need as far as clothing, toiletries and school supplies goes.”

Now, it is a better situation for the children, Dauenhauer said.

“When children are removed from their home, they are removed from their family, pets and everything,” she told the Murfreesboro Pulse during an earlier interview in 2019, when the organization was just beginning its process of acquiring a Rutherford County home. “It could be a few hours or overnight while children wait for a foster family. That’s really hard for the kids, and it has also been hard for DCS case workers because they have a lot of paperwork to do, while also caring for a kid who is under a really hard time. The DCS worker has to feed them, and they might have to go purchase lunches or diapers for a baby.”

Isaiah 117 House opened its first house in Elizabethton, Tennessee, in 2018 and now this new facility is ready to serve children in the Middle Tennessee area.

“The community has done a great job helping,” Dauenhauer said. “It has been such a blessing.”

Isaiah 117 House is currently in need of donations of new baby and toddler pajamas, baby and toddler clothing, and socks. They also need new adult size underwear and sports bras.

On Thursday, April 20, Isaiah 117 House will have a fundraising luncheon at Lane Agri-Park. It is free to attend and guests will learn about Isaiah House and help raise funds. The annual golf tournament to benefit the ministry will be held in September 2023.

For more information on Isaiah 117 House, visit isaiah117house.com or the Isaiah 117 House Facebook page or contact AlLee Dauenhauer at allee@isaiah117house.com.