Hermann – The newest Safe Haven Baby Box in Missouri has been installed and is now open for use at the Hermann Area EMS facility. The Safe Haven program exists to give parents in crisis a safe, anonymous and legal means of surrendering an infant.

Missouri’s Safe Place for Newborns Act allows a parent to legally turn over a child up to 90 days old, “as long as it is done safely and according to the law,” according to the Missouri Department of Social Services. According to that law, the child must be unharmed at the time of surrender.

When the box is opened, an alarm is triggered that alerts local authorities who can immediately respond. When it is then closed a sensor trips which engages a magnet that locks the box so it cannot be reopened. The interior of the box extends into a climate controlled room at the EMS facility.

Mike Mueller, administrator for the Hermann Area Ambulance District, was motivated to research the potential for a baby box by a post he saw about the Mehlville Fire Department installing theirs. The next closest baby box is about 100 miles from Hermann, according to Mueller.

“Today we are gathered for something practical and deeply meaningful,” Mueller said to open the presentation of the baby box to the community on Monday. “I wanted to make sure we had a safe place in this area where it could happen, and when I realized that it could be done through a donation, with no cost to the taxpayer, it was a no-brainer.

Mueller made it a point to sincerely thank the anonymous donor whose donation of $25 thousand made the installation of the box possible.

The baby box was tested for seven consecutive days before being cleared for use. And EMS staff inspect the box daily for supplies, cleanliness and to make sure temperature control is working properly. Every seven days, the alarm system is tested to make sure that it is functioning appropriately, according to Mueller.

Mariah Betz is the Assistant Project Coordinator for Safe Haven Baby Boxes and worked with Hermann EMS to get the box installed. Now that the baby box is in operation, they plan to engage in outreach at local places where parents may go for services, as well as on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, Betz said.

Pastor Dave Thomas of Hermann Community Christian Church offered a blessing of the baby box at Monday’s presentation. “When a community comes together to protect a child, it gives purpose in life,” Thomas said. “God doesn’t create junk. Everybody is special. And anything we can do to save a child, to give them hope in life, is worth everything we can put into it.”

The Safe Haven Baby Box program was founded by Monica Kelsey.

In August of 1972, Kelsey’s 17-year-old mother was brutally assaulted and left for dead. Six weeks later, she learned she was pregnant. Urged to have an abortion, she changed her mind at the last moment, carried the pregnancy in secret and abandoned her newborn daughter two hours after birth at an Ohio hospital in April of 1973.

That child was Kelsey.

After serving in the military and working as a firefighter and medic, Kelsey encountered her first “baby box” while visiting Cape Town, South Africa. Inspired by her experience and her own beginnings, she founded Safe Haven Baby Boxes in 2016 to provide mothers in crisis with a safe, anonymous alternative to abandonment.

“I stand on the front lines of this ministry as one of those children who was not lovingly and safely and legally placed in a baby box,” Kelsey told the crowd. “This is my legacy, and I am now their voice. These boxes save the lives of babies, and they save the lives of moms.”

Safe Haven Baby Boxes also maintains a 24-hour hotline for parents in crisis. The phone number is 1-866-99BABY1.

Reporting by Edward Gehlert of the Maries County Advocate contributed to this story.