Isaiah 117 House fills gap in foster care system
BUTLER TWP — Abbey Walsh had to make a split-second decision when asked if she and her husband would foster three children on their “removal day.”
The family did end up taking in the children on the day they were removed from their home, although they were not all completely dressed when they arrived at their temporary home with the Walshes.
This experience led Walsh to seek out a way to fill in the gap in foster care these children found themselves in, which led her to finding the Isaiah 117 House, which she is trying to introduce to Pennsylvania.
“This is filling in the gaps; when a child is removed from their home, the caseworkers are searching for a placement with a foster family or kinship,” Walsh said. “So there is a period of time that’s just waiting, and that waiting is usually just done in an office right now.”
Walsh is the expansion coordinator of Isaiah 117 House, and on Sunday, July 23, she spoke to an auditorium full of potential helpers at Butler Intermediate High School about the importance of the organization and how they could bring it to Butler County.
The founder and executive director of Isaiah 117 House, Ronda Paulson, also traveled from her home in Carter County in Tennessee to speak at the kickoff meeting. She said she was inspired to start the agency after becoming a foster parent herself and seeing the hardships children are exposed to through the foster care system.
“Children entering our foster care system are absolutely some of the most vulnerable in our society, so we absolutely need to be there,” Paulson said. “We need foster families.”
Paulson said in her talk that she decided to go through with her mission of creating a new haven for foster children after hearing the Bible verse Isaiah 1:17, which says “learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.”
Paulson and Walsh shared their stories of foster parenting, which they both said had led them to want to find a better option for foster children. Walsh said she didn’t know Isaiah 117 House existed until a friend of hers moved to Tennessee and told her about it. Paulson also said the growth of the agency from its founding 2017 to now — with active houses in 10 states — was surprising.
Walsh said adapting Paulson’s work to Butler County has made it easier to get the organization started, with the goal of recruiting at least 40 volunteers to staff the house and help children get through the difficult removal experience.
“We’re a place to fill in that short-term gap of removal day, which could be two or three days,” Walsh said.
Charles Johns, executive director of Butler County Children & Youth Services, also spoke at the meeting. He said having a place children could go to receive care before going to a foster home would help not only the youths being fostered, but caseworkers as well.
“It will help the children first with a place to go that’s different than our office,” Johns said. “This is a much more friendly setting for children.”
Johns also said he is not aware of any other agency such as Isaiah 117 House in the region.
“I don’t think there has been anything like this up until now that understands the process of a child’s removal,” he said, and how much disruption and upheaval a child feels at this time. “This is unique.”
Local coordinators of the house have scheduled regular meetings people can attend to share information and resources to help get the first Isaiah 117 House in Butler County off the ground. They will take place at 7 p.m. the first Thursday of each month at the Community Alliance Church, 800 Mercer Road, Butler. The Butler County group also has a Facebook page where people can get more information on kick-starting Isaiah 117 House for the region.
“From here, anybody who wants to be involved, we want them to come to these expansion meetings to find a place to fill in,” Walsh said. “We’re just spreading awareness for the next six months while we’re recruiting the community to get behind this.”
