WEST TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Officials at a local fire department said they are hopeful a new resource at the fire station will help save lives.
A Safe Haven Baby Box was unveiled to the public Monday at the Sugar Creek Fire Department in West Terre Haute.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes provide a way for a parent to safely and anonymously surrender a newborn baby. When a baby is placed in the box, it locks and a silent alarm alerts firefighters inside the station.
“As everybody else would say, we hope that it will get used, but we hope it doesn’t get used, but we hope it’s used for the good,” Josh Sittler, PIO of Sugar Creek Fire Department, said. “And even just helping one mother and one baby is going to be the greatest outcome when it’s all said and done.
The Safe Haven Baby Box at Sugar Creek Fire Department is the 64th box to be installed across the country and the 55th in Indiana.
Since 2016, there have been a total of 10 babies placed inside Safe Haven Baby Boxes, with six taking
place in 2020. The organization also focuses on educating students and raising
awareness in communities across America as well as providing crucial emergency personnel
training on how to best respond to both mother and child in this situation.
The Safe Haven National 24-hour hotline (1-866-99BABY1) offers counseling services to a parent who is unable or unwilling to care for a newborn. Nationwide, 98 surrenders have resulted from calling the Safe Haven National 24-hour hotline.
