The second Safe Haven Baby Box in the county became open to the public at an unveiling and community blessing ceremony Friday at Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory Station 2, 2204 E. Center St.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes are for mothers who don’t want to keep their newborn baby. They can surrender it “without name, without shame and without blame.”
The baby boxes are equipped with heating and cooling features and lock as soon as the baby is placed inside. There are currently 14 Safe Haven Baby Boxes in Indiana and Ohio. The Safe Haven Law allows people to anonymously surrender their healthy newborn without fear of criminal prosecution.
The baby box organization was founded by firefighter and medic Monica Kelsey, who was abandoned illegally as an infant in 1973 by her 17-year-old birth mother.
Kosciusko County’s first baby box was opened to the public Aug. 9 at Turkey Creek Fire Station at 8138 E. McClintic Road in Syracuse.
Warsaw’s station 2 was picked as the second location due to the ease of access and level of anonymity it provides, Kelsey said.
“So far, in 2019, six babies have been surrendered in Indiana safely as a result of women calling the Safe Haven Baby Box hotline, and one of the babies was surrendered in Kosciusko County in January,” she said. “We know that education and awareness around the Safe Haven Law and Safe Haven Baby Boxes save lives. Women in crisis need more options.”
The cost to install the baby boxes is roughly $10,000. Kristi Ormsby, who works with State Rep. Dave Wolkins, is the reason these baby boxes are here.
“Kristi contacted me about a year ago and said, ‘How do we fundraise for a box in Warsaw?’ Kelsey told Friday morning’s crowd, adding that the funding doesn’t happen overnight. But within about a week, Ormsby had already raised $5,000.
Rep. Wolkins also acknowledged Friday that Ormsby was the one who brought it to his attention after a bill in 2018 was brought before the statehouse.
“It’s nice to have something on the positive side of pro-life,” he said, adding most pro-life legislation gets shot down in Indianapolis by the ACLU.
“It was the right thing to do for the community, but more importantly, it was the right thing to do,” Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer said at the event.
“Here’s a tangible way to save lives,” the mayor added.
Warsaw fire chief Mike Wilson told the group how it came to be located at his station.
“It was presented at a fire association meeting and that there would be two locations, so now, where?” Wilson said.
“Here it is. Syracuse’s is open. We’re very blessed, we’re very thankful for the community,” he said. “We’d rather they walk in the front door than use the box, but if they don’t, the box is here.”
Wilson said once the box is opened and the security measures inside detect the baby, the county’s 911 central dispatch is notified of an entry alarm. Responders would be dispatched to the baby box within a minute and 40 seconds, Wilson said.
Pastors John Lowe and Ken Locke gave the blessing.
“It’s great to be in a community to help ladies in crisis,” Lowe said. “We just don’t talk about it in this community. In the 36 years I’ve lived here, people step up.”
Locke told a story about why he’s thankful this baby box even exists.
“Way back in the dark ages when I was in college in Chicago, we had a woman drop a baby in a collection box in the middle of the winter,” Locke said. The baby survived the bin drop because the bin was filled with clothes, he said, but dead babies were often found in collection bins at that time.
“So when I heard about this, what a blessing, because that’s always haunted me,” Locke said.
“Safe Haven Baby Boxes are being installed in north central Indiana because many individuals and organizations are willing to invest in this lifesaving option,” Dave Koontz, executive director of Right to Life of North Central Indiana said. “It’s encouraging to see Warsaw be one of the first in the region to implement the Baby Box program.”
“We can help you, we love you, and we will never judge you,” Kelsey said after Wilson officially unlocked the box to the public.
