by Hunter Dawkins, Publisher/AP Member – editor@thegazebogazette.com

The Pass Christian couple for 17 years; Steve and Caitlin Kelly, have begun a path to create a new organization called The Safe Haven Baby Box in the city.  If the city chooses to do so, it would be the first kind of any in the state of Mississippi and not many in the Southeast of the United States.

Safe Haven Baby Box was first founded in 2016 by a woman named Monica Kelsey. She was an abandoned baby herself in Indiana back in the 1970s and she has made it her mission that the Safe Haven organization’s primary goal is to raise awareness for Safe Haven Law. Her organization also provides a national 24 hour hotline where mothers can receive assistance free of charge. 

To date, this hotline has helped more than 8,000 women from every state in the United States. They have referred over 500 women to crisis centers and have assisted in over 120 legal safe infant surrenders and to date 22 babies have been surrendered in Baby Boxes, 7 of those babies have been surrendered just this year.

The Safe Haven Baby Boxes’ mission is to prevent illegal abandonment of newborns by raising awareness, offering a 24-hour hotline for mothers in crisis and offering the boxes a last resort option for women who want to maintain complete anonymity. 

They have referred over 500 women to crisis centers and have assisted in over 120 legal safe infant surrenders and to date 22 babies have been surrendered in Baby Boxes, 7 of those babies have been surrendered just this year.  With the recent abortion bans in over 13 states, it is plausible to think that these numbers will continue to rise.

The Box itself is located inside a local fire station/police station or hospital. It contains a silent alarm that activates as soon as the mother opens the box. A second sensor activates once the infant is laid into the medical grade bassinet. EMS/911 Dispatch is activated upon the box opening. Once the child is obtained by EMS they will go to the local hospital where they will be medically evaluated. 

At this time, Child Protection Services is contacted, and measures are then taken to proceed with adoptive placement. 

As the Kelly family presented these statistics and numbers to the Pass Christian Board of Aldermen on Tuesday, September 6, 2022, a few questions were asked about liability and the legal status of the procedures.  Both chiefs for the police and fire departments liked the idea but requested the same status of legal procedures.

Due to the fact that the city attorney; Malcolm Jones, was on leave for family matters, the board of aldermen decided to table the option until the next meeting on Tuesday, September 20, 2022.

“I would love it if Pass Christian could be the first (of hopefully many) cities in our great state to join in the mission to come alongside those who need it most,” expressed organizer Caitlin S. Kelly.  “I think now more than ever it is necessary to stand by these women in crisis and give them knowledge of the law and the resources that they can obtain by joining the Safe Haven Baby Box mission.”

The Kelly couple are both in the medical field and have 4 beautiful kids – 2 biological boys, 1 adopted daughter and a foster son who has been with us since birth. Additionally, they have been foster parents for over 4 years. 

This combination give the Kelly’s a unique perspective on the Safe Haven Baby Box and the needs of the community and state. 

Currently, there are 119 boxes throughout the United States, zero in most southern states (including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia).  The number one way to let women know of this Safe Haven option is by raising awareness that the hotline exists as well as the box, which is a last resort.

The website where you can review most of the information is shbb.org.