FOLEY — The City of Foley celebrated the opening of the state's 20th Safe Haven Baby Box on Friday. The box is installed at Fire Station 1 and allows struggling mothers to surrender their newborns for up to 45 days after giving birth, no questions asked.
Fire Chief Joey Darby said the celebration was long-awaited.
"The reality is that babies are being surrendered out there, and it's awesome for us to have that opportunity to change the life of not only a baby but the life of that baby's parents and extended community members, and so we're excited about that," Darby said.
State Rep. Donna Givens (R-Loxley) was in attendance at the box opening. Givens sponsored the legislation to make the baby box possible. She said the mother of surrendered babies will remain anonymous.
"I call it my three-in-one bill," Givens said. "One, it saves a baby's life; Two, it saves a mother from making the mistake of her life and being charged with a felony and having a record and regretting it for the rest of her life; And three, it gives a couple an opportunity to have a family to be able to adopt a baby, raise the baby. So, I'm proud to say it's my three-in-one bill because to me, it accomplishes three things. I could not be more excited about this for the city of Foley."
In Alabama, three babies have already been surrendered in Safe Haven Baby Boxes.
State Reps. Frances Holk-Jones (R-Foley), Jennifer Fidler (R-Silverhill), Mayor Ralph Hellmich and several council members joined the ceremony. Summit Church has agreed to pay the first year of monitoring costs for the box. Pastor JP Wilson gave the blessing for the box.
Darby said he expects funding from the church to continue for years to come.
Other local businesses that pitched in to make the project possible were Rolin Construction, Hunter Security and 1-800-BoardUp.
Once a baby is surrendered, Darby said a silent alarm is triggered, alerting dispatch and firefighters. EMS support arrives and transports the baby to Baldwin Health. The baby is then placed in the custody of Baldwin County DHR.
"It's my prayer that it's not needed, but we know that nationwide the statistics show that there is a need," Darby said. "And so for us, we have to recognize that that need exists. And then our folks are trained. They're prepared. We've gone through a very strict training process with Safe Haven."
While there are no plans for a second box in Foley, Darby said all options are on the table as the city builds a new fire station.
Daphne already has a Safe Haven Baby Box, and the City of Spanish Fort has one in the works.
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