Pendleton Fire Chief Chris Nodine, left, and Beckie Kahl embrace by the new baby box at the Pendleton Fire Department during a special ceremony on Monday, July 10, 2023.
Tom Russo | The Times-Post
Pendleton Fire Chief Chris Nodine, Monica Kelsey, Julie Schnepp and Linda Znachko stand by the new baby box at the Pendleton Fire Department during a special ceremony on Monday, July 10, 2023.
Tom Russo | The Times-Post
Fireman James Harless, left, and Beth Cox look at the new Baby Box which was unveiled at the the Pendleton Fire Department on Monday, July 10, 2023.
Tom Russo | The Times-Post
A small gathering at the new Baby Box which was unveiled at the the Pendleton Fire Department on Monday, July 10, 2023.
Tom Russo | The Times-Post
Scores show up for blessing of device that enables safe surrender of babies
PENDLETON — Pendleton has joined a movement that’s giving mothers in crisis a new, safe option for surrendering their babies.
To a crowd of nearly 100 people on Monday, the Pendleton Safe Haven Baby Box was unveiled and blessed at South Madison Fire Protection Territory Station 81, 100 S. Broadway St.
“We’ve had a busy year, and we never know where we will get a call from saying a baby was surrendered. Our trust is in a system we have made that we are seeing successfully protect women in crisis and their infants,” Safe Haven Baby Box Founder and CEO Monica Kelsey said. “We are delighted that the Pendleton community has a heart for protecting the vulnerable and has made this a priority. You guys will forever be known as Safe Haven Baby Box number 153, which is a big accomplishment because we are just getting started.”
Safe Haven Baby Boxes is the only organization in the nation dedicated to providing an anonymous surrender option for mothers in crisis. They allow for the legal, safe and anonymous surrender of an infant provided under the Safe Haven Law.
The box, located on the west side of the building, features three silent alarms alerting first responders to the presence of a surrendered infant.
The Pendleton Baby Box paperwork was signed by the town council in late summer 2022, but with the winter months going to make construction difficult and the transition to a full fire territory on the horizon, the Baby Box construction was held off until this year.
“This is a landmark day for our community, as the Safe Haven Baby Box is another service that we can offer our own community as well as those in need of the resource from other areas,” town council President Marissa Skaggs said. “Let Pendleton always be a safe haven for those facing hardship and lend help in monumental ways.”
For the town council, fire department and everybody else involved, the transition to a full fire territory with 24-hour staffing was needed to make the Baby Box work.
“We wanted to know that if a baby was surrendered, people would be here within seconds of the alarm sounding,” Skaggs said.
While the council was willing to fund the baby box’s construction, it was a community effort to get the box installed, spearheaded by Julie Schnepp, who reached out to the fire department about housing the Baby Box.
“We wanted this to be a community event,” Schnepp said. “This just wasn’t one or two donors, this was a community effort.”
The installation labor was donated by Zach Berline of Berline Construction Inc. and Matt Smith of M & S Masonry. Spring Valley Quilt Guild donated blankets and personal items to the location. And more than 95 individuals donated to a Facebook page set up to help fund the project.
“All that I can say is thank you to whoever you are,” South Madison Fire Territory Chief Chris Nodine said. “I appreciate it, and Julie appreciates it, as well as all the expected mothers that could potentially use this Safe Haven Baby Box.”
“Today we are surrounded by helpers,” Skaggs said. “There are a lot of helpers in uniform, but there are a whole lot of you that are sitting here that aren’t in uniform.”
Safe Haven Baby Boxes was founded in 2016 by Kelsey, and she leads the movement with personal experience. Abandoned as an infant, she now leads the fight to make sure all mothers have a safe surrender option and that those children are given a chance to live.
“I stand on the front line of this movement as one of these kids that wasn’t lovingly, legally, anonymously and safely surrendered in a Safe Haven Baby Box,” Kelsey said. “But now I’ve dedicated my life to making sure that my birth mother, who didn’t have these resources back then, is able to give birth mothers today the opportunity to keep their child safe.”
For babies placed in Safe Haven Baby Boxes, adoption occurs within 30 to 45 days by families who are signed up for foster care with the intention to adopt.
“It’s not only changing the lives of the mother who placed them, the child who is receiving the gift, but also the adoptive parents who have made a family,” Kelsey said. “It truly is a special gift.”
Indiana leads the nation in Baby Boxes. Of the 153 across the nation, 103 are found throughout the state.
“It’s great to know that word is spreading about the effectiveness and availability of these devices,” Indiana State Rep. Bob Cherry said. “Indiana continues to put life first time and time again, and I look forward to seeing more of these across the state.”
Since 2017, 32 infants have been placed in a Safe Haven Baby Box, while nationwide, 133 surrenders have resulted from calling the National Safe Haven Baby Box hotline.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes are available in Indiana, Ohio, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma and Tennessee.
This year, 11 total babies have been surrendered in Baby Boxes, up from eight in 2022.
“Monica is the solution to the problem that I have seen and exposed all over this country,” said Linda Znachko, founder of He Knows Your Name ministry. “I think this box and this movement is one of the most powerful movements we have in, not only the state of Indiana, but the country.”