Emergency Family Shelter
Immediate, emergency housing is available to families of all shapes and sizes. Isaiah House is one of the few shelters that provides private rooms to families, allowing a family in crisis to stay together.
Nobody should have to split up their family to get off the street.
Isaiah House keeps families together — in private rooms, with a door that closes — while they find work, housing and their feet again. East Orange, since 1988.
Most shelters separate families. We don’t.
A parent arriving with their children is usually asked to give them up to the system, or to sleep apart from them. At Isaiah House they are given a private room, and they stay together.
We take whole family units — including male heads-of-household, which is a rarity among shelters. Families of every definition, single women, mothers with newborns, people living with HIV/AIDS.
When families stay together, children heal faster.
What that adds up to
- 374people housed in the past two years
- 65.4%of households left for permanent housing
- <1%ever come back to a shelter
- 202households kept out of eviction
- 52%of households increased their income
- 8,000neighbors fed a year at our pantry
Become an Annual Supporter
The Cornerstone Society is a five-year pledge, from $1,000 a year — about $83 a month — and every family who makes it is painted onto the wall at 238 North Munn Avenue, where the children who live here walk past it every day. It is the giving we can plan around.
$150 keeps a mother and child safe for one night.
That is two beds, fresh sheets and a crib, blankets and pillows, toiletries and fresh towels, a private shower, and three full meals. Safety and warmth, for one night, for two people.
Give it once, or give it every month and keep the room ready for whoever needs it next. If you can commit for longer, the Cornerstone Society is the giving Isaiah House can plan around.
What we do
Shelter, food, childcare, health, housing and work — and the help that stops a family losing their home in the first place.
Re-Entry Program
Our comprehensive re-entry program is designed specifically for women who are preparing to leave incarceration and return to their communities.
Next Step Program
Next Step provides permanent housing for adults who are homeless with a mental health diagnosis.
Community Creche
Community Creche is a supportive temporary housing program for mothers and their infants.
HIV/AIDS Programs
All Isaiah House programs serve HIV+ individuals, including our Infants and Tiny Tots Daycare.
Food Pantry / In-Kind Donations
Isaiah House provides a variety of community support programs to service those who continue to live at home but need assistance in other forms.
HEAL Program
Medication-assisted treatment for opioid and alcohol use disorders — medication, counseling and housing together. Run from our original 14th Street building, not the shelter.
HomeFull
Donated furniture, chosen and delivered, so a family leaving the shelter walks into a furnished home rather than an empty room.
We don’t just serve this community. We are this community.
Thirty-two people, led entirely by women of color. Many of them have lived what the families walking in are living. Most have been here fifteen years or more.
Around nine in ten of the families we serve come from Newark and the communities around it — some of the wealthiest in New Jersey sit beside the highest concentration of homelessness in the state.
Come and meet us
Wine and Dine 2026: Pouring into Purpose
· Sofia’s Fine Italian Cuisine
Join us on Thursday, September 24, 2026 from 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM at Sofia’s Fine Italian Cuisine in Springfield for an evening of indulgence and impact.
Enjoy a handpicked selection of outstanding wines paired with a delectable Italian dinner, plus a cork pull and a 50/50 raffle.
Every dollar raised supports our mission to fight homelessness and hunger in Essex County.
Family Color Run 2026
· South Mountain Reservation
Join us on Saturday, October 3, 2026 at South Mountain Reservation in Maplewood for the Isaiah House Family Color Run.
The one-mile Family Color Walk/Run begins at 10:00 AM, followed by the Kids’ 100 Meter Run at 11:00 AM. Come ready for a colorful morning of family fun while supporting Isaiah House.
Early-bird registration is $15 and increases to $20 after September 20.
Government funding is drying up. Families can’t wait.
Isaiah House is 90% publicly funded, in an uncertain climate, with costs rising faster than the support that covers them. Private giving is what keeps the room ready, and the giving we can plan around goes furthest.
2025 By the Numbers
Last year, Isaiah House provided shelter to 314 individuals, supported over 3,000 families through our food pantry, and helped more than half of residents transition into permanent housing.
Dive deeper into the impact, programs, and stories shaping our work via the Isaiah House 2025 Annual Report.
