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The state of Kansas is celebrating the installation of its first Safe Haven Baby Box, a place in which parents in crisis may choose to leave their baby if they can no longer take care of him or her. While the practice is not new – babies have been anonymously left at firehouses and hospitals for decades, and convents for centuries before that – the Safe Haven Baby Box has revolutionized the process to add protections for the babies.
According to Reno County, Kansas’ first baby box was installed in Hutchinson Fire Department Station 1, where it was reportedly also blessed. The ceremony was attended by founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes Monica Kelsey, who explained that the project is close to her heart, because she herself was left at a firehouse when she was a newborn in 1972.
“I stand on the front lines of this ministry as one of these kids who wasn’t lovingly and safely, legally and anonymously placed in a Safe Haven Baby Box by a parent that wanted me. But this is my legacy, and I am their voice and I want to walk with these moms as they choose something safe for their child and I will forever walk with these kids and show them their worth,” Kelsey said at the ceremony.
Kelsey went on to show how the Baby Box works, giving a demonstration with a rolled up blanket in place of a baby. The cubby door on the side of the building opens directly into the fire station and provides a temperature controlled and ventilated box that features a padded basinet in which to place a baby. As soon as the door is opened, a silent alarm is triggered that ensures the baby is never alone in the box for more than a few minutes before firehouse staff retrieves them.
Since 2017, 54 infants have been safely and legally surrendered through Safe Haven Baby Boxes, while around 150 more have been handed off via meetings arranged through the Safe Haven Crisis Hotline, which is active on a national level.
Surrendered infants are adopted by families who have registered with the local department of family services.
“This box is now available to women in this community and beyond. The box offers no shame, no blame, and no names,” said Kelsey, “and isn’t it a blessing that we are standing at a fire house blessing a box in the wall so that we don’t have to stand in a cemetery and bless a box going in the ground?”
Learn more about Safe Haven Baby Boxes at the non-profit’s official website.
