Bargersville to bless new Safe Haven Baby Box

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indiana’s 114th baby box and the 202nd in the country will be blessed in Bargersville on Monday.

The ceremony, which will take place at the Bargersville Fire Department Headquarters, will introduce the new Safe Haven Baby Box to the community.

The box is a safety device made possible by Indiana’s Safe Haven Law. The law allows a person in crisis to surrender their infant anonymously without fear of arrest or prosecution.

The boxes are installed in an exterior wall of a designated fire station or hospital. It has an exterior door that automatically locks when an infant is placed inside and an interior door that allows medical staff to take the newborn out.

According to the Safe Haven group, four babies have been surrendered so far in 2024 utilizing a Safe Haven Baby Box.

Adoption often occurs within 30 to 45 days by families who are signed up for foster care with the intention to adopt.

In December 2023, an infant surrendered in a Safe Haven Box at a Carmel fire station earlier in the year was adopted by her forever family. She was believed to be the first baby adopted through a new amendment to Indiana’s Safe Haven Law.

The ceremony is at the Bargersville Fire Department Headquarters, station 210 at 3991 N. State Rd 135 in Franklin at 1 p.m. Monday.

In a press release, the Safe Haven group said, “The organization fights tirelessly to protect women in crisis and their infants in a mission to end infant abandonment. A key aspect of this mission is the Safe Haven Baby Box which allows for the legal safe surrender of a baby with complete anonymity.”

Indiana, Ohio, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Iowa, Missouri, West Virginia, and Mississippi currently have baby boxes available in their state.

Anyone needing help finding a baby box location or who wants to speak to a licensed counselor can call the National Safe Haven crisis hotline at 1-866-99BABY1.

Click here to see current baby box locations and find the nearest Safe Haven Baby Box.