SOUTH BEND —The Indiana Heart Gallery, a traveling exhibit featuring compelling portraits of children in need of adoptive families, is stopping in South Bend. The gallery will be featured at the Northern Indiana Autism Expo on Oct. 17. The Department of Child Services uses the Heart Gallery’s 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 75-100 Hoosier kids need adoptive homes because they were removed from abusive or neglectful situations,” said Sandra Caesar, DCS’ adoption 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.”

In addition, Adoption Champions will also be on-site to answer questions and provide information on Indiana’s adoption procedures.

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.

For more information about the Northern Indiana Autism Expo visit the website.

The Expo is located at 5440 West Nimtz Parkway South Bend and opens at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 17 and goes through 1 p.m.