Our panelists include:
“A Safe Haven Baby Box is a safe and secure place where a mother in crisis can leave her child and know that the child will be cared for. That’s basically what the box is,” Light explained. “Statistics show that a mother in crisis is hesitant to have a face-to-face encounter, to surrender her child, but she’s more willing to do it anonymously, so the box allows for that anonymous surrender or relinquishment. Our box in Abilene is located at Fire Station #7, 431 North Pioneer Drive. So that’s the location in Abilene.”
“Our box is accessed from outside the fire station. As you open that exterior door, you will place the newborn inside of an actual container, which is a box inside of a box. Once that door is shut, it actually locks from the outside, so no one else can tamper with it and potentially access that baby besides the firefighters inside,” Flores shared. “There is a contact beam that is broken once an object is placed inside, and that sets off an alarm to our dispatchers. If our crew is inside the station, they will know from the sound of it where to go and what to do. If they’re out on a call, then it will be dispatched to the next available company, and they’ll respond, just like any other type of medical. It is temperature-controlled, so if the baby’s in there for a few minutes, it’s safe, it’s a clean environment for that child to be maintained just for a few minutes.”
“We have SOPs on it, which are procedures, and we go off of that. We train on it. We set the alarm off, place the baby in the bassinet, open the door once a week, and do tests to ensure it’s working,” Martinez added. “Like Flores said, as soon as the baby is placed in there, it sets off a silent alarm, which is in our alarm room, where it starts beeping. So, if we’re in our office or something like that, it kind of gives us a heads-up that something’s in the box… Ours has a timer where it allows the mom, dad or whoever, to place the baby in the box, and has time for them to leave. It sends alerts to dispatch. It sends alerts to our phones, our E-dispatch. It sends tones out for fire and medical tones. It sends alerts out to the chiefs on their cell phones. So there are a lot of different ways that we are alerted.”
“The protection begins with the fact that the outside of the baby box is not monitored, and allows the parent to be anonymous. As they put the baby in the medical bassinet and they open that door, an informational packet containing their rights as a parent is available as soon as that door is opened, while each state has its own safe haven laws, Texas has the Baby Moses law, and that allows parents to anonymously surrender their baby up to 60 days old,” Wood said.
Light added, “The Baby Most Law has been around since 1999, a couple of decades, but in September of 2023, when Texas passed, we could use newborn safety devices. So that’s when the box came in, and that’s when we started getting busy getting the box here in Abilene.”
“Abilene offers so many services to women and men in our community, and at Pregnancy Resources, we offer counseling with a licensed professional counselor for free to our clients, and we love being able to offer that support for women,” Corbett explained. “We also do postpartum depression screening during our materials program, where we give out free diapers, wipes and formula once a week. So when they come for that, we have a screening process to kind of check in with people and see how they’re doing and if they are struggling. We have a process of helping connect them to their doctor or more counseling or other organizations in town that can help them work through whatever situation they might be going through that is causing trauma, pain, or issues in their life.”
Corbett shared, “The best thing is to call 211. They have a directory of all the organizations and resources here in town, and they’re able to give people the information they need to move in that direction. It may not be open to call them, but they’ll have the information. So as soon as they are open, they can make that call and get resources.”
Light added, “Safe Haven Baby Boxes Inc., out of Indiana, that supplies the boxes across the country, also has a 24/7 national crisis hotline, and again, it’s manned by a professional psychologist, and accessible anytime. What that person does is connect whoever calls the caller with resources in their area, much like what 211 does here in Abilene. We’re really fortunate to have 211, and this is an additional type of crisis hotline. The number is 1-866-992-2291.”
“When we provide a box, it’s for people to know that we are supporting and care about them. As I think about that, the question in front of the mother is not a question that’s so politicized about abortion, about birthing… She knows at that moment that she’s in crisis and she’s got to do something,” Light shared. “So her decision is, am I going to wrap this baby in a blanket and then secretly, at night, go put the baby in the alley and hope that someone finds it, but most likely it’s going to die? It’s illegal, and she may be prosecuted for that… Or the decision could be, I’m going to take my baby to this place that I’ve heard of that’s a baby box, and I’m going to give this baby a chance at a bright future. I’m going to do it legally. It’s not going to come back on me, and I’m not going to jail for doing that.”
“We break down the stigma by talking about it on a regular basis,” Corbett said. “So equipping teachers, coaches, and anyone who’s really involved with young people to have regular conversations about these things and not to do it in a weird way.”
Light added, “I think it’s all about relationships. It’s about those people you’re talking to. I know at Wiley High School, there’s a program called Mentors Care, and it’s an amazing program where you match a community person with an at-risk student, and it’s just about talking. You talk about all those different subjects that come up just kind of naturally, organically. The mentor is able to influence the student to make good choices. I think it really is about relationships in school, outside of school, particularly within families.”
“We already have a contract between Safe Haven Baby Boxes and our central fire station,” Wood mentioned. At this point, right now, we are in our fundraising phase. We need your financial support. It will take about 15 to 20,000 to bring the box to San Angelo, but our goal is 25,000, which includes annual fees and education.”
“It gives our community an option to place a baby if they’re on drugs, or they’re just young, or they just can’t, or they don’t think they could be a parent to that child,” Martinez explained. “There’s a safe place that they can place the baby in, and they can utilize that resource instead of going, say, they have the baby and they freak out, they’re panicking. They might not want to drive all the way to Albuquerque or Hobbs or somewhere, and they might just say, panic, and they might throw it in a dumpster, so having it there in our community, for our citizens and the surrounding community as well, gives them that option. They have a place to put the baby.”
Martinez has not only received positive feedback from the program, but he is also the adoptive father of a baby placed in a baby box.
“It gives them an option. We don’t know if Michael came from; he might have come from Texas, even though we don’t know where he came from, but it just gives our community an option.”
“Our whole point of going to work every day is to get out there and protect the citizens and do what we can to keep everyone safe. If you can save a life at any point, that’s what makes your career,” Flores expressed. “Being able to provide a service or a resource that could potentially save a child’s life just by being present at the station, where someone can come and drop that off at a safe location, that’s just makes you feel like you’re doing your job and that you’re there for the public, and hopefully they feel like like we are there for them, and that it’s a safe place and they’re comfortable doing it.”
“I would say it’s a difficult situation, and I would like them to know that they’re not alone. We have come together as a community to place this here so that people have a choice, and we make it as easy as possible. We make it as anonymous as possible, so that the person can make a choice for their baby,” Flores expressed. “I want them to understand that the choice they’re making, even though it’s extremely difficult, they’re making a very brave choice for the health and welfare of that child. So even though they may be giving that child to someone other than themselves and their family, they’re still providing the best case scenario for someone in need and for a baby who needs care outside of what they can provide.”
“If you’re in need, you need to place your baby in one of these baby boxes, please do. You can also surrender it at our fire station. You can come up and hand the baby off to us. You can go to police stations. You can hand your baby off, and you’ll be protected,” Martinez said. “If you need resources, there’s resources for you, and but please utilize these boxes, and you’re saving the baby’s life, and you’re giving people like myself and my wife a chance to to have a baby in our lives, and to raise that baby and to love that baby. There are plenty of loving people out there who will take care of your baby for you, and so please, take care of yourself. Please use them.”
Light added, “My hope is that whoever sees this will be able to talk about it to their people who they influence, their circle of influence, their friends, and that maybe at some point, some woman who’s needing to know about the box, to be aware of the box, will have heard a conversation, and at that moment be able to say, oh my gosh, I’m in need. I’m going to make this choice for my child and for myself. I’m going to surrender my child.”
Wood said, “I am thankful to be part of this life-saving project in San Angelo. I know you guys have one in Abilene, but here within San Angelo, we are still in the beginning stages of our fundraising efforts. Whether you can give $10 or $10,000, we need your support. If you could go to the Safe Haven Baby Box website, which is shbb.org, and give today, you would click on support our mission, and then you’d follow the prompts, and then it’ll give you a space to write San Angelo, Texas under the additional details. If sending a check, you can make it out to San Angelo Baby Boxes, PO Box 185, and that’s in Woodburn, Indiana, 46797, and then you also would write San Angelo in the memo, if you’re using the Texas QR code, then please choose San Angelo from a drop down menu, and we would love your support.”
On behalf of Pregnacy Resources Abilene, Corbett said, “We just want the men and women of this community to know that we’re here for you no matter what you’re walking through and going through what you’re considering, we’re here and we’re willing to walk with you through those hard seasons and support you.”
“The biggest message out there is that we’re here and that people need to know that there are resources available, and so don’t ever feel like you’re alone,” Flores shared. “Don’t ever feel like you don’t have somewhere to turn. Reach out, ask questions, and that information is there, and if you can’t find it, I mean, just stop at a fire station, stop at a police station, stop wherever you need to, and just talk to people.”
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