VALPARAISO | Five area youths who live with the reality of poverty will tell their stories at the First Annual Teen Poverty Forum coming April 4.

The five teens, from different backgrounds, are residents of the youth emergency shelter at the Crisis Center in Gary.

During forum breakout sessions, the teens will talk about their situations, how they got there and their future goals.

The forum is presented by MereImage, a nonprofit helping women and children in shelters transition back to the community.

Jacqueline Meredith, president of MereImage, said the event is designed to bring awareness of the number of teens living in poverty in Indiana.

Meredith said that Indiana Youth Institute data show that about 277,000 Hoosier children live in households below the federal poverty level for a family of four.

School administrators, municipality officials, community leaders, teens and parents would benefit from attending the teen poverty forum, Meredith said.

Sponsored by the Valparaiso University political science department, the Porter County Sheriff's Department, U.S. Steel and Citizens Bank, the event takes place at VU's Christopher Center. Free child care for ages 2 to 9 is provided.

The forum is the first of four across Northwest Indiana this year. The next will be on June 13 in East Chicago.