Blessing Ceremony for Safe Haven Baby Box in Long Beach

This morning, Long Beach dedicated the first-ever Safe Haven Baby Box for the State of Mississippi at the city’s central fire station.

The City of Long Beach held a ceremony for the first ever Baby Box in the state of Mississippi, giving struggling mothers another option in their time of need. “The most overwhelming part is the support we have from the community. I knew from the get-go that Long Beach was going to be ready for this, but to see it all come to fruition and to see the people here, to see everyone praying about it and to come together. It’s just honestly pretty overwhelming.”

Caitlin Kelly kickstarted the Baby Box movement last year after discovering the nonprofit organization through social media. She then began to advocate for it to come to Long Beach. But first, Kelly, with the help of state legislature, re-wrote the Safe Haven law for a baby to be surrendered at 45 days or younger. Safe Haven CEO and Founder Monica Kelsey said, “This has become a movement to keep children safe. You know, we’re tired of seeing the stories of a baby being left in a dumpster or trash can and this is an alternative to that so that the child’s life can go on and the parents life can go on as well.”

Long Beach is now the 158th Safe Haven location, making Mississippi the 12th state to implement a Baby Box. Over the last six years, Safe Haven has allowed 35 infants to be placed in Baby Boxes and initiated 133 handoffs. Kelsey says the nonprofit organization is her life story after being abandoned by her mother as an infant. “I used to look at being abandoned as a curse. And now I look at it as a blessing. You know, I mean, I was blessed to have been saved so that today I may save others.”

Kelsey says the box functions as a place holder for non-face-to-face contact for mothers and authorities to respond as quickly as possible. “And so, the box calls 911 its own there. Nobody has to be standing there waiting for an infant to come. When an infant is placed inside, the box is automatically dialing 911. And they will know within 60 seconds that there’s a baby in the box. Average time for babies in the boxes after the parent places them in is right about two minutes. So that’s how fast these boxes are calling 911 on their own. And to know that a parent can bring their child here, allow them to be saved, and then grow up with an amazing adoptive family loved and happy and healthy, I think every parent that can’t parent their child wants that for their child.”

Kelly says everything happens for a reason and the gift of life should never be taken for granted. “That the gift of life all comes from God. He already knew all of this is going to happen. He knew my children would be with me. He knew that my adopted children would be with me. And he formed families from the very beginning. So, he doesn’t make mistakes. So, when a child needs a home, he already knows where it’s going to be.”

Both Kelly and Kelsey say the Safe Haven Box is a last resort. If a mother or parent is in crisis, dial 1-866-99BABY1 to inquire on pregnancy resources or box locations. The hotline is 24 hours.

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