CHATTANOOGA, TN, Oct. 16, 2023
A new care center meant to provide a safe and comforting environment for Hamilton County children waiting to be placed in foster homes opened its doors on time this month, thanks in part to a $25,000 donation from Chattanooga-based Transport Enterprise Leasing (TEL).
Construction on Isaiah 117 House at Chambliss Center for Children began last year. With completion on track for this October, TEL executives learned last month that the new facility still needed to raise another $25,000 to fulfill financial requirements for operating, according to Jud Alexander, president of TEL.
The new facility is a partnership of Chambliss Center for Children, a Chattanooga-based nonprofit, and Isaiah 117 House, a nonprofit with homes in Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia. Financial requirements for opening an Isaiah 117 House stipulate that the building be paid for in full, stocked with supplies and clothing, and that the organization have one year’s operating funds in the bank, Alexander noted.
“When we learned they had $25,000 more to go, we knew it was important to donate the entire amount so the Isaiah 117 House at Chambliss Center for Children could open on time,” he said. “The home did open Monday, Oct. 16, as planned and is providing a refuge for children at a very difficult time in their lives, when they enter state care and are waiting to be placed in foster homes.”
John Hunter, program coordinator for Isaiah 117 House at Chambliss Center for Children, said,
“God never ceases to amaze me when it comes to His provision! We received an email from Jenn Huff with TEL. She had heard the story of the Isaiah 117 House and what was happening to children on removal day as they entered foster care. She asked what we needed, and I told her what was needed to open our doors. To our surprise we later got an email stating that we would be receiving the amount needed for us to open our doors. God has provided through TEL to get our doors open! We are now able to share the love of Jesus with children and teens who are awaiting foster placement. Instead of going to an office, they will come to a house, where they will be loved on by volunteers and will receive food, a bath, and safe environment.”
The Isaiah 117 House is an alternative to having children wait at Department of Children’s Services Offices. It offers a home-like environment where trained volunteers care for the children and provide them with clean clothes, food, toys and reassurance while case workers use a space within the house to complete paperwork and identify a good foster placement. This also gives Isaiah 117 House volunteers and trauma care personnel time to offer counseling, assistance and love to the children, as well as one week’s worth of new clean clothing, as the children make their journey to a new home, Isaiah 117 House representatives told TEL.
For information about the Isaiah 117 House in Chattanooga and to lend your support, click here.
