The 379th Safe Haven Baby Box was dedicated Thursday, this one at the South Haven fire station on County Road 700 North. The boxes allow parents to safely and anonymously give up babies for others to adopt.
John Webdell, chancellor at Knights of Columbus Council 12149, said it took less than three months to raise the $15,500 for the baby box. Donors were so generous that money has been set aside for the annual maintenance inspections for the foreseeable future.
The contractors offered their services for free.
Monica Kelsey, of Woodburn, Indiana, began the Safe Haven Baby Box program in 2015. She said around 40 babies have been deposited in them in Indiana alone since the first one was installed in 2016. That includes four in Hammond and two each in Schererville and LaPorte County’s Coolspring Township, plus one in East Chicago and another in Crown Point, she said.
Indiana has 211 of these boxes.
Kelsey, whose mother was raped and abandoned her, was visiting Cape Town, South Africa, when she saw a baby abandoned safely in a baby box and wanted to bring that idea back to the United States.
“I truly believe that Christ had a plan for me from the moment I was saved,” Kelsey said. “Because my life was saved, now I can help others.”
The concept of baby boxes dates back centuries. The Safe Haven Baby Boxes add technology to alert first responders immediately when the door to a baby box is closed.
The baby boxes are typically installed at fire stations staffed 24/7. The drawer can be opened from the outside, with the baby being placed inside and the door shut. That triggers a silent alarm to alert firefighters to the infant’s presence. At South Haven, paramedics and EMTs can provide an immediate response.
The Indiana Department of Child Services arranges a home and other needs to be met for the infant.
Knights of Columbus members have been involved in just about all of the 379 boxes installed so far, Kelsey said.
Portage Township Trustee Brendan Clancy said when he was approached by the Knights of Columbus about installing the baby box, the South Haven Fire Department was eager to embrace the idea.
Knights of Columbus member Jim Koslow said the South Haven group was told it would take about nine months to raise the funds. He was astonished by the generosity of area donors to provide the money in a third of that time.
“This is probably one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen in my life,” Webdell said. “We got the money together in no time at all. It was a spiritual intervention.”
“We hope this never gets used, because we hope that everybody finds the things they need to get by and survive through those long, tough months,” Assistant Chief Jordan Bucy said. “Whatever comes through that baby box, we’re going to help that baby.”
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.