By Jamie Strickland
When Johnston County learned that children entering foster care were starting their journey in office buildings, sometimes sleeping on the floor under fluorescent lights while waiting for placement, they decided something had to change.
Local foster parents Jessica Brown and Randa Gay led the effort to make that change a reality, working to bring an Isaiah 117 House to Johnston County.
“I knew that when you tell people a need, and especially give them a way to serve, they’re going to show up every single time,” said Gay, a Johnston County native and Location Leader for Isaiah 117 House. “I’ve seen it time and time again… that’s just what I’ve seen my whole life here.”
And show up they did. A massive community effort saw a new house financed, built, stocked and fully operational in under two years.
Isaiah 117 House exists to change a difficult, often traumatic moment for children entering the foster care system. Instead of sitting in a Department of Social Services office for hours at a time, children are brought to a home-like space where they are fed, cared for, given new clothes and allowed to simply be kids while they wait for foster placement. Their stay typically lasts between 12 and 72 hours.
The idea began in Eastern Tennessee with founder Rhonda Paulson, who, while attending foster care training with her husband, learned that children were sometimes sleeping in government offices during transitions.
Paulson decided to help change the way foster care begins, and got to work on what would become Isaiah 117 House, a nonprofit that has now grown into a network of dozens of homes across the United States.
The organization takes its name from Isaiah 1:17: “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.”
Brown and her husband, seeing first hand the gaps in the local foster system, first reached out about bringing a location to Johnston County, and Gay quickly joined the effort.
The two women already shared a connection long before the project began. Both were foster mothers who understood the realities of emergency placements, late-night calls and the emotional weight of children entering care.
They rallied the community, speaking wherever they could — churches, festivals, civic organizations — sharing their mission to support these kids.
“At the beginning, we went hard,” Gay said. “We were everywhere.”
The response was immediate.
A former park property owned by the Town of Selma was donated and contractors and local businesses began stepping in to help.
At an early kickoff event, Gay met Michael Bradley with Harbinger Homes, who approached her with his willingness to help build the house. Other suppliers and subcontractors stepped up to pitch in.
The numbers reflect the scale of that generosity. The original projected cost for the house was $410,000, but through donated labor and materials the final build came in at just $165,000.
“When each person does their little something…it all adds up so it’s not overwhelming,” Gay said.
From groundbreaking to receiving a certificate of occupancy took just nine months.
Isaiah 117 House Johnston County officially began serving children Feb. 1.
Children coming to the house are welcomed with warmth, instead of uncertainty. They are bathed, fed, given new clothes and pajamas and provided with comfort items. They are able to play, rest and begin processing their emotions.
Instead of arriving at their new foster home with belongings in a trash bag, children leave Isaiah 117 House with duffel bags filled with clothing, shoes, toys, supplies and essentials — all brand new and donated by the community.
The organization’s giving room is stocked entirely through donations, children are allowed to select items for themselves, preserving dignity during a time that might otherwise strip it away.
The organization also helps ease pressure on foster families and social services. Case workers who are often managing high-stress, emotionally complex cases are supported and recognized through small acts of care, including meals, notes of encouragement and appreciation efforts.
“They’re unsung heroes,” Gay said. “The only encounters they normally have are not pleasant.”
Volunteer support has been one of the strongest foundations of the house. At the time of opening, 69 volunteers were fully certified, with 24 more awaiting clearance and another 19 scheduled for training. Volunteers operate in shifts, ready to respond whenever children arrive.
While most volunteers are women, there is an ongoing need for more male volunteers to support older children, especially teen boys entering the system.
Gay described the role of a volunteer as getting to be the “fun aunt or uncle” for a few hours, or the extra set of caring hands a child needs in a stressful moment.
“It’s been really cool to see how each of our volunteers have something super specific to offer,” Gay said.
That includes bilingual volunteers, volunteers with special education or occupational therapy backgrounds and even hairdressers who have offered to help children feel more comfortable and cared for.
The response of the community is ongoing, with lots of local organizations chipping in to contribute.
Lemonade stands held across the county raised nearly $20,000 in a single summer. Churches, local businesses, civic groups and individuals continue to drop off donations regularly.
The women behind the home understand the urgency of emergency placements, the preparation required to welcome a child you know nothing about and the importance of supporting biological families through difficult transitions.
Isaiah 117 House reflects a coordinated effort between volunteers, donors, foster families and social workers — all working toward a shared goal of supporting the community’s most vulnerable children.
For Johnston County, it came together exactly the way Gay expected it would.
“When you tell people a need,” she said, “they show up.”
It’s the community’s overwhelming response to fill that need that makes Isaiah 117 House this year’s JNOW Honors Nonprofit of the Year.
