LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – A Lubbock nonprofit is hoping that putting a face to a child in need of a new home will help them find it.
The Heart Gallery of the Panhandle Plains put up portraits at the South Plains Mall this afternoon of children and teens in the foster care system or in need of adoption.
The gallery features their personal stories and organizers say they’re already seeing results.
Since it started in our area, 1-in-4 of the children featured have found a home. Learn more about The Heart Gallery at its website.
Jaimie Havens, the program director of the Heart Gallery of the Panhandle Plains, said the program launched in 2024. The exhibit at the South Plains Mall is one of the biggest they put on display.
Havens said the gallery is an impactful tool, especially in areas like the mall with high traffic.
“The Heart Gallery started as an effort to help kids who needed extra adoption recruitment and support, help them just get more community awareness, help the people see there’s such a need for people to open their doors to older teens, to sibling groups, kids with disabilities,” Havens said. “Just anybody who’s featured here in the gallery has been in the foster care system for a long time.”
“If the community supports kids in foster care, we can make a huge difference in these kids’ lives. Once kids age out of the system, their likelihood for homelessness, incarceration, things like that go way up. So, what we hope to do is disrupt that narrative and really help them find families, belonging, safety, security, and all the things that come with adoption.”
Source: KCBD