The Indiana Heart Gallery, a compelling exhibit featuring portraits of children in need of adoptive families, is making a stop in Vevay. The Gallery will be on display at the Switzerland County Public Library from now through Friday, February 22nd.
The Indiana Department of Child Services uses the Heart Gallery to help raise awareness about children in foster care in need of a forever home. There are approximately 1,100 foster kids in Indiana currently eligible for adoption and while many will be adopted
Using the talents of professional photographers who volunteer their time, the individual spirit and true personality of each child is captured. Heart Gallery photographs sometimes show shy children wrapped in their security blankets, girls dressed up as princesses, boys hugging dogs and siblings laughing together. The children all have one thing in common: they need families that will give them unconditional love.
Over 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 needs.
This year, approximately 20,000 young people will leave the foster care system without lifelong families – most at age 18. On their own, these young adults must navigate a weakened economy offering fewer jobs and less support for vital services such as housing. They deserve caring adults who love and support them. For some foster kids, getting adopted can mean the difference between homelessness or incarceration and transitioning successfully to adulthood.
The Indiana Heart Gallery is displaying 12 large portraits daily, except Sundays, at the Switzerland County Public Library, 205 Ferry Street. Viewing times are: Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The library is closed on Sundays. There is no charge to see the exhibit.