Malia Riggs
Elmore Autauga News
Prattville Fire Station Four is home to the second ever Safe Haven Baby Box in the state of Alabama, the first being in Madison AL that was put in just 24-hours ahead of Prattville. The Baby Box was blessed and state and city officials cut the ribbon signifying that the Baby Box is officially operational Thursday afternoon.
“It was an honor when they came to us, and we knew for a fact we were going to put it in. We had the support of the mayor on it, Lisa Byrd and the council. I don’t know why this is a hesitation by any fire department to do. It gives us a safer alternative and it gives that parent that’s already going through so much an opportunity to make sure that child is safe,” Prattville Fire Chief Terry Brown said.
Monica Kelsey, the founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes partnered with the Kids to Love Foundation to make the installation possible at 820 North Old Ridge Road.
The Baby Box is designed as a safer alternative for surrendering an infant. An anonymous and no questions asked policy, the box provides yet another safe alternative for new parents to take. The enclosure locks from the outside as soon as it is shut and activates alarms as well as alerts authorities. They are designed to keep the infant warm if it’s cold and stay cool when it’s warm outside.
Kelsey, Kids to Love and State Representative Donna Givens is the trio that made Safe Haven Baby Boxes available in the state of Alabama. On June 1, of 2023 the legislature passed House Bill 473 which permits the installation of Baby Boxes at fire stations and hospitals as long as there’s emergency medical personnel 24 hours per day.
“It’s amazing when a new state says they want to be proactive in this approach for infant abandonment. I mean you had two last year abandoned in dumpsters, if that doesn’t speak to you… these have been needed here for a while,” Kelsey said.
This bill extended the period in which an infant could be surrendered from 72 hours to 45 days. This enables parents who are struggling to have more time with an impossible decision.
But for Kelsey, this is personal. She was abandoned as an infant by her own mother coming from a horrific situation.
“I could have wallowed in my pity, I could have been angry at the world but instead I turned it into something amazing and I allowed Christ to lead me in a way that is literally saving lives throughout this country,” Kelsey said.
