Three Safe Haven Baby Boxes Are Now in Place at San Antonio Fire Stations 7, 18 and 24
The climate-controlled boxes, unveiled Tuesday at Fire Station 7 on South St. Mary's Street, give a parent in crisis a safe, legal and anonymous way to surrender an infant 60 days old or younger under Texas law.
San Antonio now has three Safe Haven Baby Boxes in place at city fire stations, unveiled in a ceremony Tuesday morning, October 27, at Fire Station 7, 1414 South St. Mary's Street. The other two boxes are at Fire Station 18 on South W.W. White Road on the East Side and Fire Station 24 on Austin Highway on the Northeast Side, according to KSAT's reporting of the unveiling.
The boxes are climate-controlled bassinets set into the stations. Safe Haven Baby Boxes said the three San Antonio boxes are the 484th, 485th and 486th locations in the nation and the 24th, 25th and 26th in Texas, and that under Texas law an infant must be 60 days old or younger for a legal surrender. KSAT reported the boxes connect to an alarm that alerts emergency dispatch and the firefighters inside the station, and that they arrive three years after the San Antonio City Council approved funding for them.
"Because the people of San Antonio stepped up, a parent who feels out of options now has a safe, legal, and anonymous one close to home. We pray this box is never needed, but if it is, San Antonio will be ready," said Monica Kelsey, founder and CEO of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, in the organization's announcement as published by Live Action.
The unveiling closes a long local push: KABB Fox San Antonio reported that a local child advocate had pressed for years to bring the boxes to San Antonio. The stations carrying them now span downtown, the East Side and the Northeast Side.
