Heart Galleries of Texas Helps Adopt Children – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

A Texas nonprofit organization continues to do good to meet the urgent need for adoption in North Texas. November is National Adoption Month, which brings an even bigger spotlight.

Heart Galleries of Texas has a unique way of helping children in foster care find permanent homes. Using powerful photography, they tell each child’s story and connect them with caring families. They recently received millions of dollars in federal funding to continue their mission in Texas.

“We were very fortunate to receive $12 million in the last legislative session to launch Heart Gallery programs based on a model outside Central Texas that will be replicated across the state,” said Kori Gough, Heart director Galleries of Texas.

Since 2014, the Central Texas Heart Gallery has helped 400 children adopt and they have a big goal for next year as well.

“It all started 25 years ago when a young foster mother witnessed how these groups were stuck in foster care. She had the concept of using the power of photography to help,” Gough said.

She said these pictures show the child’s personality, they are not just portrait photos but they really make a difference.

“There are 5,000 children available for adoption in the state of Texas. Of those 5,000, approximately 1,500 were found to need to hire additional employees. That’s why we want to get all of these kids into a heart gallery program because we want to increase their adoption rates incredibly. This is intended for children who spend a lot of time in foster care. They grow up; They need a home to call their own.”

Gough said they have seen a sharp increase in acceptance rates over the last decade.

“We now have 11 heart galleries, including several in Dallas/Fort Worth. “The more we can do, the more children will be visible and the more children we will be able to adopt,” Gough said.

Current locations in North Texas include National Life Group – Professional Building in Addison, Stonebriar Mall in Frisco, Hulen Mall in Fort Worth, Town East Mall in Mesquite, Parks Mall in Arlington and Metropolitan YMCAs on the region’s west side .