BAKER COUNTY, Fla. – You may notice a new house being built in Macclenny.
This is not an ordinary house; it’s called the Isaiah 117 house, and it’s a place for children to go before they receive foster care placement. Children, who are removed from their homes by the Department of Children and Family Services, can go to this house for shelter, clothing, and anything else they may need before being placed with foster parents.
So often, before children are placed in foster care, they are put in case workers’ offices while they wait for a home. That means in some cases, kids sleep in case workers’ offices, which can be traumatic for a child, especially after they’ve just been removed from their home.
There are eight other states across the country that have Isaiah 117 homes.
The Raiford Church offered up the land so the Isaiah 117 house can help children in surrounding communities.
The house is being built by more than 80 volunteers from four different states, who, according to Phil Duval with Carpenters for Christ, have all taken time off from their paying jobs to come and work on this house.
“We knew it was going to be a challenge, but we accepted that challenge because our god is faithful,” Duval said.
The house will have two bedrooms, three bathrooms, a case workers office and a kitchen.
Baker County has had 32 kids go into foster care from April 2022 to April 2023, according to the office of child and family well-being dashboard.
“Children come in here with nothing...they’re removed and it’s traumatic, and a lot of times they have none of their belongings, and they’re able to provide it,” Isaiah 117 house program coordinator Sherrie Steadman said.
Steadman is also a foster parent.
She became a foster parent to 3-year-old Auggie three months after he was born.
“He was taken from the hospital, but I don’t know what happened, if he was loved or cared for,” Steadman said.
Now, she’s Auggie’s legal guardian.
“Auggie’s an amazing child. We got him when he was 3 months old,” she said. “We don’t even know he’s not part of the family -- that I didn’t birth him myself. He’s the funniest child.”
Steadman said if she had Isaiah House when she fostered Auggie, the process would have been easier.
“It’s very scary for foster families when they say yes. They know nothing about this child. You know nothing about their needs. It’s a scary time and transition,” she said.
Children like Auggie will now have what they need to live happy lives with their foster families because of the Isaiah 117 house.
This home is being built through community donations.
Duval County will start building an Isaiah 117 house of its own soon as well.
The organization’s goal is to have this house done and ready to start serving people during the holiday season.