Newborn surrendered inside Hammond’s Safe Haven Baby Box, 30 days after the box became operational

Newborn surrendered inside Hammond’s Safe Haven Baby Box, 30 days after the box became operational

On September 6, 2019, a healthy newborn baby girl was safely surrendered, at Franciscan Health Hospital in Hammond, Indiana, via a Safe Haven Baby Box that had been active for less than 30 days.  This is the third newborn placed in a Safe Haven Baby Box in less than two years in Indiana.  This is also the seventh surrendered infant in Indiana for 2019.

Franciscan Hospital Emergency Department and security were notified by the alarm as soon as the newborn’s mother opened the outside door to place her baby in the box. Within 90 seconds, the newborn baby was retrieved from the box and received medical care.  The hospital staff worked flawlessly as they followed every hospital and Safe Haven Baby Boxes protocol established for receiving a newborn baby birthed outside a hospital.  

“I want to personally thank the brave mother that carried her child to term, kept her safe, and then exercised her rights under the safe haven law and surrendered her newborn in our box. She is healthy and perfect," said Monica Kelsey, Founder and CEO of Safe Haven Baby Boxes. 

“This brave young mom is exactly why I fight so hard to give moms more options. She contacted us within a few days of the surrender and we are providing her resources available in her area to give her the support she needs. She did not call the hotline before placing the newborn in the box, and she is not from the Hammond area," Kelsey added.

The newborn has been released from the hospital and in custody of the Department of Child Services to start the standard safe haven surrender process for finding her a forever family. The Department of Child Services is working diligently to have this child with her adoptive family within 30 days.   If you would like to adopt this little girl, contact your local Department of Social Services and register as a foster/adoption family. There are thousands of kids in foster care looking for forever families.

More Information About Safe Haven Baby Boxes

Two babies have been surrendered in the Safe Haven Baby Box at Coolspring Volunteer Fire Department located at 7111 W. 400 North in Michigan City late 2017 and early 2018.  

Franciscan Health Hospital currently has Safe Haven Baby Boxes available in Hammond and Michigan City, Indiana. There are currently 14 active Safe Haven Baby Boxes in Indiana and Ohio and several more planned to go live by the end of 2019.

Education and awareness of the Safe Haven Laws with the help of Safe Haven Baby Boxes saves lives.  Safe Haven Baby Boxes staffs a 24-hour National hotline (1-866-99BABY1) that gives women in crisis the opportunity to reach out for help and get the information they need to make a lifesaving choice for their baby. This option helps prevent parents from making a decision that would haunt them for the rest of their lives.  Safe Haven Laws are simply words on paper for those who need to utilize this law, but do not know it exists. Education and help in the midst of crisis are vital steps needed with the implementation of the Safe Haven Laws in our country.

Safe Haven Baby Boxes actively promotes and educates communities about the existing Safe Haven Laws.  Thousands of dollars are devoted to producing literature and hundreds of volunteer hours are used for promoting these laws. Safe Haven Baby Boxes strives to provide an extensive social media presence and has answered messages on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and from the website (www.shbb.org).

For further information or to schedule an interview with Monica Kelsey, contact Safe Haven Baby Boxes at shbb@SafeHavenBabyBoxes.com or call (888)742-2133.