A newborn was surrendered to a Safe Haven Baby Box at the 2nd Platoon of Kokomo Fire Department in Indiana, Fox News Digital reported Friday.
The two-day old baby girl was left in the Baby Box on July 17 with a note from her mother, “who shared her love and hopes for her daughter,” according to the report. Firefighter James Shaffer tended to the infant until medics arrived.
“While we will never know your full story that led you to this point in life. We thank you for making the loving decision to make sure your baby is taken care of,” the department wrote on Facebook. “We can’t imagine what you are going through, but you led with love and your baby will always carry that with her.”
The box the baby was surrendered in was installed on June 11, 2020, Safe Haven Baby Boxes told a local news outlet. The surrender was the fifth time the boxes have been used in Indiana in 2023, and more than 100 boxes have been installed in the state since 2017.
“Although these are hard choices to make, we applaud the mother for giving her daughter the chance at life through an anonymous, safe and legal option,” SHBB founder Monica Kelsey told the outlet.
The organization has 155 boxes installed across Indiana, Arkansas, Kentucky, Florida, Ohio, New Mexico, North Carolina, Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma with the aim of combating baby abandonment.
“According to the organization’s website, it has had over 132 legal Safe Haven surrenders to date — 32 of those babies were placed in Baby Boxes and three others were handily directly to firefighters at Baby Box locations. SHBB has also assisted in nine adoption referrals,” the report states. “In addition to the boxes, the organization offers a national 24-hour hotline (1-866-99B-ABY1) where women in need are provided with counseling and assistance for free, SHBB said. The hotline has received over 8,000 calls from every state in the U.S. and over 500 women have been referred to crisis pregnancy centers.”