COLORADO SPRINGS — On display at Penrose Library in downtown Colorado Springs, are pops of colors and designs all done by individuals impacted by the foster care system.

The art display is put on by Kids Crossing, a foster care agency helping children throughout Southern Colorado find the support and care they need.

“Kids Crossing has been in the community for right around 30 years or a little over 30 years at this point,” Kids Crossing Foster Home Coordinator, Nicole Barnett, said. “We were founded by foster parents for foster parents, there was definitely a need at the time to provide more support for foster parents, especially those parents taking in medically fragile kids or kids with bigger behaviors. So, they wanted to create an organization that did that.”

Barnett shared the immense impact fostering has not only on the child but also on all other individuals involved including herself.

“So I actually just had an adoption about two weeks ago, which is an amazing experience to be a part of,” Barnett said. “Our goal is always reunification. We want the kids to go home, but if they can’t, adoption is the next best thing and being a part of that is so rewarding and are definitely things that I will take with me forever.”

The exhibit is called “Through Our Eyes” showing a new perspective of how art can be used to express all emotions felt in the foster care system.

The exhibit will be open throughout the month of July

“A lot of our kids, right, their voice gets taken away, their control gets taken away,” Barnett said. “They come into care and a lot has been stripped away from them. So, it’s not just our foster kids, but it’s also therapists, people in the community, anybody that has ties to Kids Crossing submitted things.”

The art has even greater meaning for Jamie Kopinski who has been helping children in the foster care system for the past seven years.

Kopinski looked out on the different pieces shown in “Through Our Eyes.”

“So foster care was something that always was in the back of my mind,” Kopinski said. “I kind of always was interested in doing it. I didn’t have the best childhood myself, and so I always kind of had this thought that if once I’m an adult, if it’s something that I could do to help other people, I would be willing.”

During the interview with FOX21, Kopinski looked out on the artwork and shared how proud she is of the piece her foster child did.

“It’s really interesting to see him put things on canvas or put things on paper that are just sort of in his head and watching him process through things that way is very fascinating to me,” Kopinski said. “It’s also cool because he incorporates a lot of his Mexican culture into his artwork, so that’s also really neat to see.”

Artwork Kopinski referred to in the interview with FOX21.

According to CO4Kids, on average nine children and youth enter foster care each day in Colorado. For children navigating the foster care system, art help express emotions during these hard times.

“It gives them that voice back and lets them express themselves in ways that I don’t think they would normally,” Barnett said. “It’s very impressive some of the work that they’ve submitted.”

Over the years, Kopinski has formed connections with the children she has met and the recent artist has left an impact on her.

“I’ve had the privilege of doing lots of other things as a foster parent, like volleyball mom or video game mom or just other interests that they have,” Kopinski said. “This one, I think is particularly rewarding because it does sort of tie in with healing and where they’ve been and where they’re going and cultural aspects that, you know, are just so important.”

Another piece of art featured in the exhibit located at Penrose Library in downtown Colorado Springs.

The artwork will be on display until the end of the month showcasing the creative individuals here in Southern Colorado.

“I would definitely encourage everyone to attend the exhibit,” Kopinski said. “It kind of gives you a look through their eyes… and it just gives you a chance to see a different light of foster kids. You know, a lot of times people have a certain perception of who they might be or what they may be like. The reality is that everybody is still their own individual and they’re all really incredible humans and have a lot to offer.