The City of La Porte is receiving Indiana’s 119th Safe Haven Baby Box. La Porte Fire Station #2 is inviting the community to attend the blessing of their Safe Haven Baby Box on April 11.
The event will occur at 115 E. Shore Court, in La Porte at noon.
La Porte Fire Chief, Andy Snyder stated, “Installing a Safe Haven Baby Box has been a goal of our department for quite some time now, and we are so glad to finally have this incredible resource in our community. We are very grateful to the family of Congresswoman Jackie Walorski for their contribution to and support of this project in her memory. Thanks to them, we can now rest assured that mothers in need throughout our community have a place to turn to.”
“Paul’s Construction aided the mission by installing the Baby Box pro bono,” Safe Haven Baby Box said in a press release. “Indiana Department of Homeland Security majorly funded the project with assistance from Impact International Inc. and the Walorski Family.”
Mayor Tom Dermody shared, “Fire Chief Andy Snyder and his team have worked diligently to bring this very important resource to our community. This box has the potential to save and change many lives in our community over the next several years, and we are proud to join the growing movement across the country to provide a Safe Haven for mothers and babies in need.”
In addition to the Baby Boxes, the organization confidentiality aids women in crisis with their
National Hotline, 1-866-99BABY1, which has assisted with over 140 surrenders. Indiana, Ohio, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Iowa, Missouri, West Virginia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas have a Baby Box presence within their state.
“When the door of the Baby Box opens a silent alarm sounds alerting first responders, along with when the infant is placed in the bassinet, and when the door shuts, automatically locking, according to Safe Haven Baby Boxes. “The infant will immediately be transported to the hospital for medical evaluation and the baby will be with their adoptive family soon.”
“Since 2017, 43 infants have been safely and legally surrendered in a Baby Box and an additional 148 have been surrendered by handoff with the help of the National Safe Haven Crisis line.”
Families seeking to adopt a Safe Haven baby should reach out to their local Department of Family Services to register for foster care to adopt.