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Doni: Imagine being a child who suddenly finds themselves without parents or other caregivers.

Then imagine that child entering foster care, sitting in a room with a kind but unknown caseworker who must find a new place for the child to live.

Maybe they're hungry.

Maybe they need someone to hold on to for a moment.

But for certain, they're scared.

This description could fit any one of the more than 370,000 children in the foster care system.

Enter Isaiah 117 House, one of the super heroes of this process.

Program expansion coordinator Jennifer Bohnsack is here to discuss this amazing project.

I'm Doni Miller and this is... To The Point.

Connect with us on our social media pages.

You know that.

You also know that you can email me at doni _miller@wgte.org, for this episode and any other additional extras that you'd like to see, please go to wgte.org/to the point.

I have this amazing person with me today.

Her name is Jennifer Bohnsack, she is working to expand access to care for foster kids who are entering the system, scared and displaced, and often not with the things that they have.

And you are working with Isaiah 117 House to bring services to these kids.

First of all, thank you for all that you do.

I thank you.

Thank you for all that you do.

And thank you for being here this morning.

And I'd like to tell folks a little bit about you before we get started.

You have had 35 foster kids.

Jennifer: We have.

We've been foster parents for the last 12 years.

Bryan, my husband, and I have been foster parents for the last 12 years, and we've had 35 kiddos and ranging anywhere from 0 to 13 years old In our home.

We've had sibling groups as high as four kids.

Doni: Oh my gosh.

So what does.

Jennifer: And we have four birth children.

Doni: My gosh.

So with so what put this on your heart to do?

Jennifer: You know, I love kids, by the way.

I have always wanted to be a foster parent.

And shortly after our fourth son was born, Bryan came home from work one day.

He works for Lucas kind of jobs and family Services, and he came home and said that this opioid epidemic was crazy and they need foster parents really, really terribly bad.

And, you know, what do you think?

And I'm like, Yes, yes, please, Really?

Doni: Just like that.

Jennifer: Like Ive said, I've always wanted to be a foster parent.

I thought I would have to convince him to do it.

And but we had just truly given birth to our fourth son, Jude, and he was just a itty bitty baby at the time.

And I'm like, we just need to get him a little bit, You know, At least sleeping through the night would be nice.

Yeah, that'd be good.

At least sleeping tonight would be nice.

Before we brought in more kiddos.

Right In that following year, my sister kind of playing around.

She sent us an ad, not an ad post on Facebook.

It was a sibling group of five that needed a forever home.

They had already been in foster care for however long parental rights had been removed and they needed a forever home.

And I'm like those are our kids.

We're going to go back, we're going to start our classes and we're going to bring them home.

We started all five of them.

That was our plan and we already had four.

And again, that was our plan.

God had other plans.

We started the foster care classes shortly after the first of the year.

That year, that was on Thanksgiving Day.

My sister had sent us that post and we'd started foster care classes that following January.

And during that time we had kept in touch with the caseworker the entire time to know, to learn more about those five kids.

And about three months into our classes, the caseworker reached out and said, Jennifer, I know you guys have been wanting to bring these kids home, but we found a home and we think it's a really, really good fit.

So we're one door closed, another one opened, and we continued our journey.

And here we are today.

We've adapted two and we have two that we're currently fostering, and then we have our four birth children and eight is amazing.

Doni: Yes.

So most of us would say that that eight is enough.

I read when I was doing research about you and about Isaiah, the Isaiah has that a child showed up at your home with different shoes to lift shoes.

Jennifer: Yes, she did.

They were not of any one was a slipper, one was a boot, but they were both for the same foot.

They were both left footed shoes.

And and it's not, it's not an original story.

So it might be an original story that that little girl came to our home with two left shoes.

But it's not an original story that many of our children come into foster care, very dirty, very hungry, often with lice, with very minimal personal belongings, often the clothes that they're wearing is far too small for them, very worn out and dirty.

And.

Yeah, and they come with very few personal possessions.

But that is part of the ideas of mission, is that each house has a giving room and the giving room is fully stocked with clothes for both boys and girls from birth and up to 18 and larger.

We have got school supplies, backpack packs and then the fun stuff too, like stuffed animals and blankets and bracelets for the young ladies in sunglasses and baseball caps are things that the boys would like.

Doni: So it's a nice segue to talk about the Isaiah 117 house.

But before we do yeah I'd like you to tell people a little bit about the kids that come into the system.

Frightened.

They're terribly scared I have.

You try to come up with a plan when you're going to pick up kids from down at Children's Services.

So you know you're going down to downtown Toledo to pick up the kids from the offices on Adams Street.

And, yeah, you show up there and those kids are cleaning the caseworkers because that's all they've known for the last however many hours.

I picked up a little girl who was one and and I'm this is not an exaggeration, but for the first week of her being in our home, she would knock it off my hip, my in my hips and my legs were so sore, but she would not let me put her down.

She would not let me put her down.

She wouldn't go to my husband.

She only wanted me.

And she was that frightened.

She was so terribly frightened.

You think that sometimes when you take these kids out of of the conditions that that they are in and the reasons why they're being removed, but it's what they know.

They they still love Mama and they still love Daddy.

Doni: And they don't understand.

Jennifer: And they don't understand, Right?

They just want to be back home in their in their comfort area.

Yeah.

Even if it's unsafe, that's what's comfortable and home to them.

Doni: Right.

How, how, how long does it generally take for the transition to take hold.

Jennifer: Before a child feels comfortable?

Yeah.

Doni: So I know, I know you're going to say things on the that and.

Jennifer: It does because you've got the little girl.

I'm trying to avoid names.

You've got the little girl that came that clung to my hip for seven days straight.

And then you've got other ones that come there and there.

They walk into your house like they've been living there for a year.

So yeah, it really truly does depend.

I've had car rides home where kids continually cry the entire time in other car rides home where they're asking me a million questions.

Do you have dogs?

Do you have any cats?

Can we stop at McDonald's?

Do you have what?

Do you have a swing set in your backyard?

You know, just 100 million questions the entire way home that you're just kind of like fielding for them.

Doni: So what do you hear, though, from, from folks who are fostering for the first or second time who are early in their career of fostering?

Are they nervous?

Are they concerned about their ability to to be good foster parents?

Jennifer: I don't know.

I can't speak for everyone that certain.

But there's a... Doni: Training.

Jennifer: Absolutely.

These are training.

There's I don't know exactly how many weeks of training it's been.

Like I said, 12 years, some years.

So I think that we started in January and I think we were done by April, and I think our trainings were like two or three times a week, if I remember correctly.

And I know there's all kinds of different ways that you can do weekends.

I know you can do it online.

These days.

There's a lot of easy way, and I will say a quick little plug, which is that currently right now in Lucas County, we have over 1000 kids in Foster care and we have under 160 homes.

We are in desperate need of people to step up and foster.

Doni: And people should not be afraid to enter this process because there is training and there is support.

Jennifer: There is training, there is support.

And these are kids and they just want to be loved.

They just want to be kids.

Right?

I've had so much fun taking them on vacations.

I've had I can't tell you the numerous amount of kids that we've taken to Disney.

Yeah, we took a sibling group of four to the US Virgin Islands or vacation one time and yeah, they, they yeah, I've got to take them to the beach.

I've got to take them to amusement parks.

I've got to.

And the joy on their faces to, to be introduced or to see these kind of things.

I get to feel like a kid again.

Sure.

Doni: Yeah.

Yeah.

I think the other thing to that we don't talk about in this very important topic is that so often these kids are being fostered at a time when they're trying to figure out who they are and they're trying to figure out coping skills and decision making skills.

And they've got all of that to do.

And then they're they're trying to find their place in a new home as well.

Jennifer: Absolutely.

Yeah, absolutely.

All of our kids, they and some of them have had to grow up too fast.

We've had so many kids that have come into our home that are so used to taking care of baby brother or baby sister to I've had children.

And again, not to keep highlighting all the no fun parts, but but I've had children who have come into our home, who go into our freezer and they will take out frozen food and eat it and they will pick off of people's plates that are, you know, like if somebody puts a dirty plate near the sink to be washed after dinnertime, they will go up and continue to grab food off of those plates to continue eating, even though, you know, if they wanted more, we could have we would continue to give them more.

Yeah, absolutely.

Doni: So when did your heart stop breaking saying those things?

Jennifer: So I will.

I will.

I've said it to many people, but who I am as a foster parent now is is has much changed from where I was when I first began.

It's not that my heart doesn't break still.

I have kids that come into my house that leave and my heart goes with them each and every single time.

And the stories they, they are like I said, it's not an original story.

There's so many of these stories, and it's very unfortunate that there was not an original story and that there's so many of them.

And you can you can continue to talk about one parent and another parent and another parent, and you're just like, you can't make this stuff up.

You can't make these types of conditions or situations up.

Right.

Doni: So we're going to go to break.

And when we come back, though, I want to spend some real time talking about Isaiah one.

Jennifer: I would love to do that.

Doni: We're going to go away, but please stay with us.

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I hope you didn't miss our first segment.

If you did, you missed lots of great information from Jennifer Bohnsack who is the expansion coordinator for the Isaiah 117 House.

Amazing, amazing mission that is spreading across the country.

Why don't you tell folks a little bit about the Isaiah House.

Jennifer: So Isaiah 117 was a dream by the woman by the name of Rhonda Paulson.

Rhonda Paulson lives in Elizabeth in Tennessee, and she became a foster parent, I think it was back in 2012.

And when she was taking the foster care classes, she had the gentleman that was teaching the class one day shared with her that the night before, a little girl had slept on the floor there in the conference room where they were teaching the classes.

And Rhonda raised her hand and she's like, You must be mistaken.

Like, she didn't like, legitimately sleep right here on the floor.

And he said, Yeah, right now, when kids are coming in to care, and if we're not able to secure a placement for them right away, then we have to keep them here at the agency building until we can find a home, a foster home for them.

So, I mean, it started to plague her.

She and her husband, Corey, talked about it endlessly, about what they could do to change the situation so that kids are not coming down to an agency to spend nights or to eat vending machine food or fast food, not able to take showers or get cleaned up when they come into care.

But yet still, like in this waiting pattern, I think we're sending the wrong message when we do that.

We're pulling the kids from an unsafe environment and we're saying, Hey, we're here to help sleep on the floor.

Yeah, So we're sending the wrong message and we need to correct that message.

And that's kind of when Isaiah 117 steps in and Isaiah 117 House is put in place, so that on the day of removal, the kids go to a home so that when they're being removed, that caseworker can call ahead to the Isaiah 117 house and say, I've got four kids.

Their names are this, this, this and this.

Their favorite foods are this, you know, their sizes are this so that we can start getting close together.

We can make sure that we have their favorite foods cooking.

We can put some cookies in the oven so that the house smells like fresh baked cookies when they arrive.

And we can greet them by name so that they know exactly where they're at and that they're safe and that they're going to be loved on.

Doni: And we're trying to bring Isaiah 117 here.

Jennifer: We are bringing Isaiah 111 17 to the Lucas County area.

It'll be used by the Children's Services here in Lucas County so that on the day of removal, they have some place to go.

We just had our expansion kick off on April 28 and.

Doni: Biggest one.

Jennifer: Ever.

I was very, very it was a huge success.

I love the outpouring of community that came out to the event.

Absolutely.

We're going to spend the next six months raising awareness.

I'd love to get in front of every single church and congregation to share with their their ministry or our ministry to their congregation, because we are raising an army of God's people to build this house.

And God's people are in the pews of our churches.

So I need to get into those churches and small faith based groups, organizations, the Girl Scout troops, VBS.

I would happily come talk to anybody who would like to hear more about what an Isaiah 117 is and how they can get involved and how they can help build this house.

Doni: And you want to tell folks how they can get in touch with you?

Jennifer: Absolutely.

You can get in touch with me at on Facebook at Isaiah 117 house.

via email at Jennifer.Bohnsack at @isaiah117house And either one of those two are great ways to reach me.

Doni: And I'll, I'll, I'll try and make sure that we get it on our website as well.

Jennifer: Great as I'm.

Doni: Sure I'm sure that people will be reaching out to you more than you expected.

Jennifer: I hope so.

I hope so.

I really need everybody.

Like I said, we it is the house is a house that is being built by the community.

So we need contractors, we need distributors, lumber companies, so forth to step up.

We need churches for us to get in front of.

We need land.

We need land.

If anybody has any extra land that they are hoping that would go to a good use.

We need land.

So where are.

Doni: You in the process now?

Exactly.

Jennifer: Again, we just had our kickoff on the 28th.

We're spreading awareness right now.

So it's a fundamental piece of the puzzle that Isaiah 117 likes us to get involved in the community and and get known by the community.

So it's not just about raising the money, but it's also about making sure that people want to be a part of it.

Exactly.

They want to be a part of this because it's not just about getting the house built.

Getting the house built is important.

It gets the the doors open and gets the children someplace safe to go.

But it's an ongoing process that will be continuing to raise money for and and funding this nonprofit throughout its entire existence.

Doni: And there are other Isaiah Houses around the country, aren't there?

Jennifer: There's 57 in the process.

There are 23 open currently that are serving children in 12 different states.

And there are going to be, I think it's four different ribbon cuttings this than the month of May here.

So we'll have four more open homes by the end of May.

Doni: That's really good news.

It's really good news.

You're not allowed to have the ribbon cutting, though, until you have everything in place.

Is that the way I understand there?

Jennifer: The rule of it is, is that the House has to be fully paid for and funded, and we have to have one year operating budget in the bank in order to open those doors.

Doni: So folks really need to under you really need to step up in support in order to get this project.

I would.

Jennifer: Love that.

Yes, I would love everybody to get involved.

Again, it's going to take a community and we've got an amazing community.

The amount of people that have stepped up and started rallying around this project has just been overwhelmingly wonderful.

Doni: Are people able to donate now?

Are they able to donate things like money?

I would understand and land that would understand, but things like clothes and furniture, they're able to donate them?

Jennifer: Absolutely.

If anybody wants to organize any type of a a a drive or a fundraiser of any sort to benefit Isaiah 117.

Absolutely.

And Isaiah 117 House in Tennessee last week, a group of young ladies at an elementary school, they made little hearts and suckers and they sold suckers and bracelets that they had made at their school.

And they raised over $700.

No kids.

So, I mean, everybody is getting involved.

It's not just the adults.

It's the kids, too, that are seeing the benefit and the need for this.

Doni: And so help me a little bit with the process.

So kids would come in to see a CSB here or Child and Family Services.

Jennifer: So when they're being removed from their home.

Their home.

Yeah.

Currently they go down to and to a the Adam Street location, which is their offices, the children's services offices.

Doni: Right.

And then would they call you when those children get.

Jennifer: So the idea is that they never go to Adam Street.

The idea is that they, they bypassed that altogether and that they will go from being removed through our red door.

So that's another little thing is that all Isaiah 117 houses have a look they are all white with a black roof and a bright red door so that you know exactly where you're going to be.

Yeah.

So when they when they come through our red door, we are there to love on them.

But yeah, they, the whole idea is that they're going to bypass going through children's services altogether.

Doni: No kidding.

So they, they then get to leave if they're taken from their home, which is trauma beyond I think what, what most of us would be able to understand.

But they they leave that space and they move into this welcoming space, being greeted by their names and.

Yep.

Cookies and.

Jennifer: Exactly.

And yeah.

And they're there it's a it's meant to be a short term stay so it's not meant to be their permanent stay the Isaiah 117 house is used on the day of removal as an example.

A sibling group of four might be a little bit harder to find an ongoing foster care home for than, say, just a single one year old little girl.

We'll say our boy, but sibling group of four is going to be a little bit more difficult to play, so they might need an extra couple of nights at an Isaiah 117 house.

But what it allows the caseworker to do is it allows the caseworker to slow down, focus on his or her job and find a good fit for that sibling group to stay together, if at all possible.

Again, with only 160 homes and having over 1000 kids in care, it is difficult to keep all the kids together when sibling groups come into care.

But with that, a little bit extra time for them to make some phone calls.

There is going to be a likelihood or an increased likelihood that maybe we can keep some of those sibling groups together instead of splitting them up on the day of removal and causing that much more trauma.

You know, right now they just removed from their home and then to have to leave their siblings as well.

It's again, it's just compounding the problem.

But again, if we had more foster homes.

Doni: That's right.

Jennifer: Yep.

We again, we in addition to the Isaiah 117 house, we really truly do need more of our community to pray and look in their hearts and and see if becoming a foster parent might be a good fit for them.

Yeah.

Doni: Yeah.

And again, a thousand kids in a thousand kids in Lucas County.

And 100 foster homes.

Jennifer: 165 foster homes, Doni: 160 foster homes.

Jennifer: Yeah.

Right now we have kids that are all over the state of Ohio.

Doni: So kids are actually who live in Lucas County are actually moved to other.

Yeah, no kidding.

Jennifer: I didn't because, I mean, some other counties are much smaller.

Lucas County is one of the larger counties in the state of Ohio.

So some of the smaller towns, even Wood County, is smaller than ours.

So but yeah, so when kids are coming in to care and we can't find a home, you know, within our Lucas County area or our Lucas County foster parent community, then yeah, then they have to kind of reach out and find other locations for them to go to, whether it's Cleveland or Cincinnati or even further.

Yeah.

Doni: My gosh.

Away from everybody they know.

Jennifer: And they're leaving now their school district, too.

Yeah.

So the teachers that they know, their friends that they know it's not you know, if they're in sports, they're leaving all of that behind.

Yeah.

Doni: My gosh.

So how big how big are Isaiah houses to be.

Jennifer: So it depends.

Some Isaiah 117 houses have been donated and rehabbed but the floorplan that's typical for our Isaiah 117 house is already around 2200 square feet.

It's a Cape Cod style home.

Like I said, the entire upstairs of the Cape Cod style home is the Giving room.

It's an area where kids can go shopping for all of their new favorites.

In the downstairs, it has two bedrooms, two baths, and it also has an office area for the caseworker because at all times a caseworker will be onsite.

So our volunteers are there to love on the kids and to take care of the kids while the caseworkers do their work.

But there is always a caseworker onsite for the children until their place with the home.

until their place with the home.

so glad I met you this is such an amazing project.

Lots of people are listening and I'm sure that lots of people will be donating this one really gets your heart.

Jennifer: It's going to be a great addition to Lucas County.

It's going to, I say, changing the way foster care begins.

We want to change the way foster care begins for these kiddos.

Doni: Thanks for talking to me.

Thanks for having me.

And thank you all for being with us today.

And we'll see you next time on... To The Point.