Safe Haven baby boxes dedicated in three more communities

Safe Haven Baby Boxes are truly saving lives, and in April, boxes were added to three different communities in the hopes that even more might be saved.

Key Takeaways:

• Safe Haven Baby Boxes were recently dedicated in Lovington, New Mexico; Lawton, Oklahoma; and Tyler, Texas, bringing the national total to approximately 430 installations across 24 states.

• The boxes allow parents to anonymously surrender newborns without prosecution. When an infant is placed inside a Safe Haven Baby Box, a silent alarm is triggered, alerting nearby firefighters, who are able to almost immediately tend to the infant.

• Lawmakers and religious leaders at each ceremony pointed to recent tragedies, including infants abandoned in dumpsters and porta-potties, as urgent reminders of why the Safe Haven Baby Boxes matter.

The Details:

Since the Safe Haven Baby Boxes organization launched in 2015, 77 babies have reportedly been safely surrendered through the boxes installed with the help of the organization. These boxes — temperature-controlled, anonymously accessible units that allow mothers in crisis to legally and safely surrender newborns — are expanding their footprint, with new installations and dedication ceremonies held recently in New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. 

Monica Kelsey started the Safe Haven Baby Boxes organization after learning, well into adulthood, that her own life had begun with abandonment. The inspiration for the boxes came after Kelsey visited a church in Cape Town, South Africa, where a pastor had constructed a baby box after finding infants repeatedly left on his church steps.

The process of Kelsey's version of the box is simple: A parent opens the exterior door, places the baby inside, and steps away. Then, the door locks automatically, setting off a silent notification to the firehouse. From there, first responders take the child to receive medical attention before any other authorities step in to help.

Lovington, New Mexico

Lovington became New Mexico’s 16th Safe Haven Baby Box site on April 20, with a ceremony at Lovington Fire Station 2 that drew officials and religious leaders from across the region.

Sen. David Gallegos (R-Eunice), who has fought for years to protect babies as a legislator in New Mexico, pointed to two recent tragedies: an infant abandoned in a dumpster in Hobbs and a newborn left in a porta-potty outside Las Cruces, just 28 miles from the nearest box. That child did not survive.

“That could have been resolved with one of these boxes that was 28 miles away,” Gallegos said.

Bishop Peter Baldacchino of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces blessed the installation alongside First Methodist Pastor Robert Gasman.

“Today, our community is choosing compassion and protection for the most vulnerable,” Baldacchino said, “so that the child’s first moments of life are met not with indifference but with care and welcome.”

New Mexico allows for Safe Haven surrenders up to 90 days after birth.

Lawton, Oklahoma

Lawton, Oklahoma, held a ribbon-cutting on May 2 for its second Safe Haven Baby Box at Fire Station No. 5, through a partnership between the Comanche County Memorial Hospital Foundation and the Lawton Fire Department.

Oklahoma law permits infants up to 30 days old to be surrendered without legal consequence. A box had previously been placed at the Duncan Fire Department in 2024.

Tyler, Texas

In Tyler, Gov. Greg Abbott joined Sen. Bryan Hughes at Christus Mother Francis Hospital for the blessing and dedication of a new box on April 24, one of a growing number housed at hospitals rather than fire stations.

The governor's attendance reflected the broadening political support the Safe Haven movement has earned at the state level.

Texas allows for surrenders up to 60 days after birth.

The Bottom Line:

As the tragedies cited in Lovington made plain, the distance between a desperate decision and a safe one is sometimes a matter of miles.

Jessi Getrost, executive assistant to founder Monica Kelsey, put the logic plainly: “It’s a great way for parents to have that anonymous option, should they choose it. We like to say it’s better to bless a box in the side of a wall than to have to bless a box going into the ground.”