Isaiah 117 House opens doors to ‘hard fought’ home in Lafayette

In the works for five years, the volunteer-run Isaiah 117 House in Lafayette’s north end will offer a place for kids to go in the often traumatic hours they wait to be placed in a foster home.

• Support for this edition comes from Lafayette Urban Ministry, presenting the 2025 Hunger Hike on Sept. 21 in downtown Lafayette. Fundraising starts for an event that supports the work of LUM, Food Finders Food Banks and the Haiti Ministry at St. Thomas Aquinas Center. Sign up to walk, to support a team or become an event sponsor at www.hungerhike.org. For more details on the Hunger Hike, click the link below.

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ISAIAH 117 HOUSE OPENS DOORS TO ‘HARD FOUGHT’ HOME IN LAFAYETTE

Standing on the porch Friday afternoon of what will be No. 33 in an Isaiah 117 House network of homes designed to be safe spaces for children first landing in the foster care system, founder Ronda Paulson talked about a ribbon-cutting she estimated was two years later than anticipated in Lafayette.

“This home has been hard fought,” Paulson told a crowd of more than 100 people gathered in a north end Lafayette neighborhood for a blessing on a house set to open after five years of planning, fund raising and scrubbed attempts at other locations.

Isaiah 117 House cut a ribbon Friday and will open Monday. (Photo: Bob Young)

“Lesser people could have walked away,” Paulson, the Tennessee-based executive director of the faith-based nonprofit Isaiah 117 House, said. “They could have said it’s not going to happen. But they didn’t, because they believe in this mission and they believe that the children of this community deserve this house.”

The Lafayette home, the fifth Isaiah 117 House in Indiana, will open Monday, working like others operating or being planned across 13 states. A team of 70 volunteers will be on call to take in, host and watch over children coming from situations of abuse or neglect, as family case managers from the Department of Child Services find foster homes for them.

(Photos: Dave Bangert)

The two-story home, built on what had been an empty lot, is 2,100 square feet with two bedrooms and 3½ bathrooms, stocked with clothing, food, toys and supplies. The alternative, often, is waiting in an office setting.

“Part of the mission is to help reduce trauma for children entering foster care,” Holly Hess, location leader for the local Isaiah 117 House, said. “We just want kids to feel secure, giving them some dignity in what can be terrible situations.”