Isaiah 117 House cuts ribbon, ready to serve foster children

With its ribbon cutting in the rear view mirror, Isaiah 117 House Putnam County is now ready to assist children placed in the foster system on their worst day, according to Adele Sprinkles. 

Sprinkles, the location leader for the Putnam County nonprofit, told The Putnam County Post, Isaiah 117 House is a home for children awaiting foster care or kinship placement.

"When DCS workers remove a child from the home, instead of taking them to a DCS office, they will bring them to the home. We have volunteers come in who will care for the children, give them food, clean them up and give them new clothes. Our mission is to remove trauma for children on their removal day, to lighten the load on DCS workers and help foster families say yes by providing them with items that they need," Sprinkles said. 

While DCS workers are at the house all the time, Sprinkles said the Isaiah 117 volunteers have a key role as well.

"We are there to entertain the kids, feed them, engage with them and just take their minds off their current situation for a small amount of time until DCS is able to place them with other family members or a good foster family," Sprinkles said. 

While Putnam County may not be as populated as Marion County or Boone County, Sprinkles said the need for Isaiah 117 House is still great.

"We are geared for one family at a time, or, possibly, two if we can separate the house. When the DCS worker brings the children in, we will try to make it fun for them, give them clean clothes and try to spoil them when they are with us. We do whatever they want to do because on this day, they don't have a lot of choice in anything. We want to give them some choices and make them feel like they have a little control over their life," Sprinkles said. 

Sprinkles said she is "speechless" when she considers the fact the house is built and ready to serve families.

"I have been involved since the very beginning, for four years. We were standing inside the door the day of the ribbon cutting and someone said it was like getting ready to go down the aisle because it is something that has been so anticipated for so long. You are excited and nervous, but as of today, our doors are open for kids, and we couldn't be more thrilled," Sprinkles said. 

As for when the facility could be utilized, Sprinkles said it all depends on when Isaiah House gets a phone call.

"It has been a long journey, and it has been amazing. We have so many great volunteers, and once we get that first phone call, we will be ready. We are on call this week and ready. The DCS office here is as excited about us being open as we are. Other counties are aware of us as well, but it is a wait and see. We just don't know when we will get that first child. It could be today or it could be next week. We are able to help and have so many trained volunteers that are ready," Sprinkle said. 

And, when that call comes in, Sprinkles said they will be ready, thanks to the donations of Putnam County.

"For a rural community like we live in, it is amazing what people have given and what people have done. For the house, we had contractors donate supplies, their crews to come in, and when you go in our basement and see the giving room, there is just totes and totes of children's clothing from newborn to Adult 3XL and all of that was donated. The generosity of people here in the county is just astounding. A lot of our supporters has been touched by foster care, and they know how difficult the situation can be and they want to do something to help," Sprinkles said.