The Indiana Heart Gallery, a traveling exhibit featuring compelling portraits of children in need of adoptive families, is stopping in Vevay.
The Gallery will be featured at the Switzerland County Public Library now through Tuesday, May 24th. The library is located at 205 Ferry Street next to the Historic Hoosier Theater; and is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and on Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) uses the Heart Gallery’s remarkable professional portraits and stories about foster children in Indiana to help put a face on a sometimes invisible need and remind families that adoption can change lives.
There is no charge to see the Gallery.
“On average we are actively recruiting adoptive homes for 100-120 youth statewide,” said Sandra Caesar, DCS’ adoption program manager. “Every child needs a family they can call their own. We need families that are not only willing to love our children, but are also prepared to commit to them, claim them as their own and hang in there through their ups and downs.”
Nationally, nearly 400,000 children are in foster care in the United States. More than 100,000 are legally available for adoption and in need of adoptive families. Many of these children are older, in sibling groups that want to be adopted together or have special medical needs. For some foster kids, getting adopted can mean the difference between homelessness or incarceration and transitioning successfully to adulthood.