Safe Haven Baby Box is now 'an option for life' in Northeast Ohio county

Northeast Ohio now has a Safe Haven Baby Box installed at the Alliance Central Fire Station, thanks to the work of a dedicated community that supports life.

Key Takeaways:

• Pro-lifers, community leaders, and first responders banded together to bring the first Safe Haven Baby Box to one Northeast Ohio county.

• The box was installed in October, as a crowd of 100 supporters gathered for a blessing ceremony attended by Safe Haven Baby Boxes founder Monica Kelsey.

• Those in the community who rallied to place this baby box hope to raise the funds to install more at other locations in their county.

The Details:

In mid-May of 2025, a hole was punched in the wall of the fire station in Alliance, Ohio, for a Safe Haven Baby Box (SHBB). The box installation and alarm were completed by the end of July.

Then, on the chilly late afternoon of October 22, a crowd of 100 supporters gathered at the fire station for a blessing ceremony to mark the launch of a fully operational Safe Haven Baby Box. Alliance Mayor Andrew Grove, Fire Chief Jason Hunt, Assistant Fire Chief Ted Johnson, Councilwoman Jennifer Kiko and pro-life advocate Linda Warren spoke about how vital the box will be in helping families in crisis. 

“We now have an option for life," said Councilwoman Kiko. "It is God-driven, purpose-driven by Him. Now, life is our number one driver.”

At the dedication, SHBB founder Monica Kelsey shared that, since 1999, approximately 5,000 babies have been saved by state Safe Haven laws in the U.S. Kelsey also shared her personal story of being abandoned as an infant by her 17-year-old mother who had been brutally attacked. Kelsey stated that a mother surrendering her baby is “nothing less than heroic and selfless.”

The baby box in Alliance, Ohio, is the 390th box among 24 states that have the boxes, the 19th in the state of Ohio, and the first in Stark County, Ohio. When the door to the box is opened to access the box, an alarm is activated, and an infrared beam is broken; a second alarm is activated once the baby is placed in the box. Chief Hunt trained fire station staff on exactly what to do once an infant is surrendered.

The Backstory:

In 2014, Linda Warren — a pro-life advocate with Right to Life of Stark County who also heads the 40 Days for Life campaign in Stark County, Ohio — hosted Safe Haven Baby Boxes (SHBB) founder Monica Kelsey at that year's Walk for the Unborn. This first piqued Warren's interest in baby boxes. Ten years later, in February 2024, she joined a Zoom call with Pat Dorka and Denise Leipold of Right to Life Northeast Ohio, along with SHBB's Pam Stenzel.

Warren told Live Action News that, "[a]t the March meeting of Right to Life of Stark County, the board discussed and approved seeking a fire station" location for a baby box in the county. "This is why we decided to move forward.”

Recognizing the need

She believed there was a need in the county for mothers to safely and anonymously surrender their babies, as there had been several instances in Ohio in which a baby box could have resulted in lives saved. Tragically, in May of 2023, twin infants were found deceased in trash cans in Cleveland.

“Then, in February 2024, an infant less than 30 days old was surrendered hand-to-hand by a courageous mother in Alliance at the fire station under the Ohio Safe Haven law,” Warren said. “At the time, Assistant Chief Ted Johnson was at the station. He wanted the baby box to happen before he retired in 18 months.”

Warren spoke with various nonprofit organizations for fundraising advice and reached out to a firefighter at the station in Defiance, Ohio — which has a Safe Haven Baby Box — to get insight into the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) requirements.

“Firefighters in other Ohio locations that had baby boxes were helpful with passing along information,” Warren said. “At the Lebanon, Ohio fire station, the chief advised on the placement of security cameras, and at another station in Seville, a firefighter provided guidance on installers.”

Alliance Fire Chief Jason Hunt took the idea to the Alliance government committee. Massillon Fire Chief Matt Heck arranged a meeting with several Stark County fire chiefs. The enthusiasm among the chiefs gave Warren's fundraising team the incentive to find not one, but three locations in Stark County for the baby boxes.

Warren said, “We thought, strategically, these locations should be eastern and western parts of the county and one in the middle. These boxes would serve the surrounding cities, towns, townships and neighboring counties. But [at that time], we were going to let God decide where the first box went.”

Gaining momentum

In July 2024, Right to Life of Stark County hosted Kelsey at a Celebration of Life dinner to launch the project, and a month later signed the Safe Haven Baby Box fundraising policy. In September, Kelsey launched the Safe Haven Baby Box initiative for Stark County, and Right to Life kicked off the fundraising campaign.

“During this time, Chief Hunt was working with the Alliance City Council and particularly with Councilwoman Jennifer Kiko,” Warren said. “As a representative of Stark County Right to Life, I spoke at the Alliance City Council meeting and was permitted to hand literature to the nearest council member, who was Jennifer Kiko. She was instrumental in getting the city behind the project.”

In early 2025, Right to Life of Stark County applied for an Alliance-area grant; though they did not obtain the grant, the group remained undeterred. Board member Cathy Sherman presented at civic organizations in the greater Alliance and nearby Louisville areas.

“Right to Life of Stark County required that all quotes for the project be confirmed and all ODH fees be paid," said Warren, "and the total cost of the project plus extra money was in the SHBB account before ordering the box.”

Just 13 months after the fundraising campaign commenced, more than $25,000 had been raised from the contributions of Stark County residents, five civic organizations, and five churches. 

The Bottom Line:

For Warren and Right to Life of Stark County, the work is just getting started.

“We are so grateful to the people in Stark County, through their generosity, that made this vision come to fruition,” Warren said. “No government or taxpayer money funds Safe Haven Baby Boxes.”

As Warren said during the ceremony, “I thank God for his guidance. He kept us going, to persevere. I believe He wanted the first baby box to be in Alliance. Now we have a blueprint on how to move forward.”