Area mothers in crisis now have option to anonymously surrender their babies
By Jeff Kurowski | On Mission
HOWARD — Mothers of newborns in crisis in Northeast Wisconsin now have another safe option for their babies.
On Saturday, Jan. 18, Bishop David Ricken blessed the recently installed Safe Haven Baby Box at the Howard Fire Department. The box is the first in Northeast Wisconsin and only the fifth in the state.
Mothers can surrender their babies to law enforcement, fire and rescue professionals and at medical facilities, but that requires face-to-face interaction.
“First responders have all been trained with the knowledge that some day a knock at the fire station door could be a mother in crisis asking us to do our jobs to help her and her child in a time of need,” said Dennis Staeven, Howard fire chief. Now, “mothers in crisis can do the right thing anonymously.”
Knights of Columbus Duck Creek Council #6279 of St. John the Baptist Parish, Howard, funded the baby box with support from other councils.
“Too often, we hear the tragic news of an infant being discovered somewhere who has been left to the elements and most often does not survive,” said Jerry Mader of Council #6279. “It’s our prayer that this baby box will serve as a solution to this terrible, preventable problem.”
Mader recognized supporting organizations at the blessing ceremony.
He thanked Knights of Columbus Council #6764 of St. Benedict Parish, Suamico, and its Ladies Auxiliary, and Knights of Columbus Council #17149 of St. Louis Parish, Dyckesville, for financial contributions.
Mader also offered gratitude to contractors who donated work on the project, including Bayland Buildings, Inc., Northland Electrical Services, Martin Systems and Packerland Glass Products.
He also lauded the Village of Howard and Howard Fire and Rescue for accepting the project.
Monica Kelsey, founder and CEO of Safe Haven Baby Box, traveled from Florida to attend the blessing ceremony.
“Today, we offer women an option that has never been done here before, 100% anonymity if they choose,” she said to those gathered inside the fire station. “This is the 306th baby box in the nation. We’re just getting started. There has been abandoned baby after abandoned baby after abandoned baby. If these women choose an anonymous surrender, they now have that ability here in Howard, Wis.”
Kelsey said Babies are being abandoned in states that don’t have Safe Haven Baby Boxes every three days.
She shared her personal story, which she said fuels her passion. Kelsey was abandoned by her birth mother, a rape victim, in 1973.
“I stand on the frontline of this ministry as one of those kids who wasn’t lovingly, safely, legally and anonymously placed in a Safe Haven Baby Box by a parent who wanted me,” she said. “This is my legacy and I’m now their voice. I will forever walk with these moms … I will forever walk with these kids to show them their worth. It’s the feet in the community doing the work, and it’s the work of Christ.”
When the outside door of the Safe Haven Baby Box is opened, a “panic alarm” is triggered and the Brown County Dispatch Center is alerted,” said Staeven. A secondary alarm locks the door.
“There is also an internal motion camera. It alerts all of us to, ‘Yes, there is a baby in there.’ There are a lot of fail-safes,” he said.
“We transport the baby to the most appropriate hospital after an initial medical inspection,” said Staeven. This was an easy decision to be a part of this project, even if it never gets used. That’s a good thing. We are honored for the responsibility.”
“We are standing in a fire station blessing a box in the wall so we don’t have to stand in a cemetery blessing a box going in the ground,” said Kelsey.