This from pharostribune.com: LOGANSPORT, IN- Logansport may soon be getting its own Safe Haven Baby Box.
A meeting was held earlier this week at Pisgah Christian Church to provide information about the planned baby box for Logansport, the Safe Have Hotline phone number billboard campaign and the opportunity to help these efforts financially.
Baby boxes are safety devices provided for under the state’s Safe Haven Law and legally permits a mother in crisis to safely, securely and anonymously surrender her unwanted newborn.
A baby box is usually installed in an exterior wall of a fire station or hospital. These devices have an exterior door that automatically locks upon placement of a newborn inside, and an interior door which allows a medical staff member to secure the surrendered newborn from inside.
Indiana cities continue to add more baby boxes — there are currently 16 in the state. Currently, the closest one to Cass County is in Warsaw.
Dave Koontz, executive director of Right to Life of North Central Indiana, said his organization serves six counties including Cass. According to Koontz, all six counties currently have Safe Haven Hotline campaign billboards, including Cass.
Koontz said there hasn’t been in a need in the Cass County area specifically, but an installed baby box locally could serve an expanded area.
“One mother who surrendered her child actually reached out to us and told us she had to drive over 60 miles to reach the closest baby box location,” Koontz said. “So a baby box here in Logansport doesn’t just benefit Cass County, it benefits an expanded area as well.”
Koontz said that Safe Haven is in the process of securing a contract with the city.
“If everything goes as expected, we hope to have the baby box installed here in two or three months,” Koontz said.
The boxes are padded and climate-controlled, Koontz added. He said they cost between $10,000 and $15,000. His organization is working to raise funding.
Once the baby box is completely funded and the contract is secured with the city, it would likely be installed at the Logansport Central Fire Station.
Logansport Fire Chief Bernie Mittica said that a baby box in Logansport would be an important addition to the community and to the surrounding area.
“It’s hard to explain the importance of this because of the gravity of it,” he said. “This would be great not only for Logansport and Cass County but also the surrounding areas.”
Three newborn babies have been saved in Safe Haven Baby boxes so far in the last two years in Indiana.
Many mothers in crisis want and need anonymity when surrendering an infant, due either to fear of recognition, the stigma associated with surrendering a child or fear of persecution due to ignorance and/or misunderstanding of the Safe Haven Law.
The Safe Have Baby Box organization staffs a 24-hour hotline (1-866-99BABY1) to give women the opportunity to talk to a trained professional as the consider safely surrendering their baby.