By admin 
YUMA, AZ (AZFamily) — Two Safe Haven Baby Boxes have been installed at Yuma fire stations, giving parents a new, anonymous way to surrender newborns legally and safely in a crisis.
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Local officials and advocates said the effort gained urgency after a baby was found dead outside a Yuma hotel last summer, a case that stunned the community and fueled calls for more options for parents who feel they have nowhere to turn.
The boxes allow a parent to open a secured door and place an infant inside. An alarm then alerts fire personnel, who respond immediately. The unit is temperature-controlled and includes a small bassinet.
“Firefighters and medics will rather pull a baby out of a baby box than a dead baby from a dumpster or trash can any day,” said Monica Kelsey, the founder and CEO of Safe Haven Baby Boxes.
With two boxes now operating in Yuma County, supporters say the goal is prevention — offering a safe place for newborns and a second chance for families.
Serana Kissell, a firefighter and EMT with Rural Metro Fire in Yuma County, said she was on duty the day the baby — later named Baby Sonny — was found dead in a trash bin. She said the tragedy pushed her and another firefighter to work toward bringing the boxes to Yuma County.
“We all just sat there and reflected like, man, how can someone do that,” Kissell said. “But it also made us realize we don’t have the resources to give them the safe option to surrender safely without the incident happening again.”
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After a baby is surrendered, the child is medically evaluated and the process begins to place the infant in a permanent home, according to officials involved with the program.
Kelsey said Safe Haven Baby Boxes are now in 26 states, and she continues expanding the program in communities that request them. She has said her work is rooted in her personal story of being abandoned shortly after birth.
In Arizona, the state’s safe-haven law allows a baby to be surrendered if the infant is up to 30 days old. In Yuma, the new baby boxes are located on the east and west sides of town.
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