The city of Newberry has introduced a new option for mothers who want to give up their babies safely and without judgment. The Safe Haven Baby Box now installed at Newberry Fire Rescue Station 28 is only the second of its kind in the state. 

“We can’t avoid the crisis, we can avoid the tragedy,” Monica Kelsey, founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, said in an interview. “If we can just make it a little bit better for that parent that is in crisis, we can do a lot. It is a good day when we can do a lot or a little with a parent of crisis.” 

Kelsey created Safe Haven Baby Boxes to help prevent illegal abandonment of newborns, creating helplines and options for new mothers who do not feel capable of caring for a child and do not know what to do with their babies. She said the process of saving a newborn through a baby box is a “double-edged sword” because while the baby is saved, the mother is still struggling. 

When someone opens the baby box, an orange bag falls out with instructions and resources for the mother, directing her to information about things like what to expect after giving birth. Of the 36 babies surrendered in baby boxes across the nation, Kelsey said most are newborns who were not birthed in the hospital, leaving both mother and child in need of help. 

Once a baby is placed in the box, Newberry Fire Chief Mike Vogel said an infrared signal is disrupted, calling a monitoring company, which alerts dispatchers to set off an alarm at the station. About 1½ minutes between the baby entering the box and the alarm sounding gives the mother time to leave anonymously. 

In the time between, the box is safe and warm, locked on the outside as soon as the door closes. Kelsey said this scenario is much safer and healthier for the child than they could be, pointing to a newborn in Palatka who was abandoned naked in a backyard over Thanksgiving weekend.

That child survived, but Kelsey said a Baby Box is an all-around better option because it is safe for the baby, prevents the mother from being prosecuted for child abandonment, and it becomes a closed adoption that brings a child to parents who have been on a waiting list. 

“Everyone wins when a child is legally surrendered or legally placed for adoption,” Kelsey said. “But when a baby is abandoned, everyone loses.” 

Station 28 has been a safe haven since 2000, the same as all other Florida fire stations, hospitals and emergency medical services stations, according to law. This means that a parent can leave a baby who is about a week old or younger at any of these places and surrender parental rights anonymously. 

Vogel said that while the firefighters legally cannot ask questions, it can still be an intimidating concept to have to look them in the eyes while giving up a baby. In a small town like Newberry where everyone knows everyone, he said, that can be even harder. 

The box is not just for Newberry, though, Vogel said. 

“We’re 20 minutes from Gainesville,” Vogel said in an interview. “Somebody who wants to be anonymous can come all the way to Newberry now and put that baby in a box and no one will ever know… and if that gives the mother the peace of mind to do the right thing, then that’s what we want.” 

Newberry City Commissioner Tim Marden said it is important to make sure options like Baby Boxes are available to women in crisis. 

“I think it could very well be one of Newberry’s finest hours,” Marden said in an interview. “I think it’s made possible by a great community, wrapping its arms around the great opportunity.” 

The baby box is not a simple hole in the wall, costing about $10,000 for the box itself and about $15,000 more for installation. An anonymous donor who had seen the baby box in Ocala had offered about $10,000 to Kelsey for the next Florida location, but Safe Haven Baby Boxes does not solicit locations. It waits for the stations to reach out. 

A staff member had sent an initial email about baby boxes in October of last year, but Vogel said he did not pay much attention because he saw “safe haven” and thought it was only referencing what the station already does. But a second staff member followed up on the email, and Vogel realized this was something different, that he wanted to see in Newberry. 

Vogel brought the idea to the city manager, who brought it to the commission, and the project was set in motion. The fire chief attended an online informational seminar with Safe Haven Baby Boxes, and when he mentioned that Newberry is in Florida, Kelsey offered to direct the anonymous $10,000 donation to Newberry. 

To raise the rest of the money for the box, the city partnered with the Newberry Opioid Task Force, selling t-shirts and barbecue. Individual community members contributed to the fundraising, but in May, the city was still thousands of dollars short. Someone mentioned it in a city commission meeting and community member Jordan Fairfield volunteered to donate $10,000 to fill the need. 

“Everybody has agreed that this is something we hope that we never need, but we’re glad that it’s here if we ever do,” Mayor Jordan Marlowe said in a speech at the event. “I love that we have the opportunity to give a woman who’s in a traumatic situation and faced with unimaginable decisions, we’ve been able to give options to her so that we can bring that child in, we can save that child, we can make sure that child grows up safe and healthy, and hopefully happy.”