A months-long effort to place a Safe Haven Baby Box in El Dorado was completed this week with the city's new baby box being dedicated and officially opened for use.
On Tuesday, local and state officials, Hannah Pregnancy Resource Center staff and El Dorado firefighters gathered at EFD Station 2, 1400 W. Hillsboro, for the Safe Haven Baby Box's dedication.
"Here at the Fire Department, we're extremely honored to have this box here. This is the southern-most box that's placed in the United States," Fire Chief Chad Mosby said. "A lot of people in our community came together to make this happen. The citizens of El Dorado, the citizens of south Arkansas, north Louisiana are going to be blessed by this box, and we're honored to be the location of the Safe Haven Baby Box."
Paula Williams, executive director for Hannah PRC, said she first learned that the city could make efforts have a baby box placed locally earlier this year, when an official at Arkansas Right to Life informed her that annual grant funds the agency receives could go toward such an effort.
"I thought this would be a wonderful opportunity for El Dorado and the surrounding area, and I think it fits perfectly with what we do at Hannah already -- we are a life-affirming service, and I think this just continues what we are there to do," she said.
Williams said she reached out to Bruce Butterfield, of the local Knights of Columbus organization, as well as Mosby and El Dorado City Council member Paul Choate to pitch the idea.
"We all decided this was a good thing; this was something we needed to do," she said.
Monica Kelsey, founder and chief executive officer of the Safe Haven Baby Box company, attended Tuesday's dedication ceremony. She explained that the idea for the baby boxes came from a personal experience; her mother, she said, was raped at 17 years old, became pregnant in the assault and ultimately abandoned Kelsey as an infant.
"This isn't just about babies, this is about moms as well," Kelsey said. "We're not just saving babies, but we're saving moms, too."
The first Safe Haven Baby Box found its home in Woodburn, Indiana, a town of about 1,500 where Kelsey's husband served as mayor in April, 2016, when the box was placed.
"In Indiana, we were finding two to three dead babies in our state every year. Do you want to know how many babies have been found in my state on my watch? Zero," Kelsey said. "We have literally turned the tide in Indiana."
In April this year, Williams appeared before the City Council seeking their approval for the baby box. She, Mosby, Butterfield and Choate decided EFD Station 2 would be the best location for the box since it would give those traveling on Hwy. 167 easy access, and, being at the corner of the city, would allow for more privacy for mothers who choose to utilize the box.
The box was delivered in July, and with the help of local businessmen, including Blake Williamson of Diversified, David Smith of Electric Alarm Company and Randy Wood of Lawrence Electric, has been installed at the station.
"I think it personifies exactly what today means: Hope. This box is about hope. You know how hopeful I am about the future of this area, when you have private businesses come together, give their hard earned money and time to put this in?" said state Sen. Trent Garner, who also attended Tuesday's dedication service.
Per Arkansas's Safe Haven Law, a parent may bring a child who is 30 days old or younger to employees of any hospital emergency room, law enforcement agency or fire department that is staffed 24 hours a day.
Parents may also anonymously place a child in a designated newborn safety device, or "baby box", location without questions or the risk of arrest and criminal charges for endangering or abandoning a child.
"I want women in this community to know that this box offers no shame, no blame and no names. This is a safe option for you. You won't be prosecuted if you child is 30 days or less and unharmed. You can come from Louisiana; there's no law that says you can't cross state lines to keep your baby safe," Kelsey said.
Following the Rev. Robert Wetherington's dedication of the baby box, where he asked for God's blessing, an El Dorado firefighter demonstrated how the box works.
When a woman opens the door to the baby box, a bag with information on medical resources and the Arkansas Safe Haven Law falls out for her to take home. The bag also includes forms the mother can fill out at any time with her medical and/or personal information and send to the state's Department of Human Services in case she wants her child to have her medical history or be able to find her in the future.
The mother can then place her child in the baby box, which is temperature-controlled, padded and complete with a bassinet on the interior.
The baby box is outfitted with several alarms to notify first responders that a child is being placed inside. The first is a silent alarm that signals 911 dispatchers when the woman opens the baby box door; the second alarm sounds when the baby is placed inside the box; and the third goes to dispatchers when the mother closes the door again.
Once the door to the baby box has been shut, it cannot be opened again from the outside until the baby inside has been retrieved by first responders.
Mosby said he thinks the baby box will serve a need in the community.
"We have mothers in crisis and unwanted pregnancies, and the stigma has always been that the mother should always take care of that child, regardless of her capacity or anything like that. What has happened in the past is that children have been abandoned in unsafe manners. I personally have found a child in a ditch in the county," Mosby said. "If we can save one child, if one child can be placed in this box and recovered safely ... then everything we've done was worthwhile."
The box cost $10,000. Hannah PRC contributed $3,500 from their Right to Life grant, and local organizations and individuals, including the El Dorado and Magnolia chapters of the Knights of Columbus and residents from south Arkansas and Texas, funded the remaining costs.
Williams said Hannah PRC will continue to contribute grant funds to pay for the monthly alarm fees.
"You can see, it was strictly a God thing that this came," she said. "God used many people to bring this box to El Dorado, and Hannah is blessed to have been a small part of that. We thank you for this. This is so exciting. This is an achievement for us, and we're very thankful for all the support."
Mayor Veronica Smith-Creer said the baby box can be a symbol of pride for the city.
"We can't always name or know what situations people live in or have to be in, but this is, again, another opportunity for us to show compassion," she said. "I want to thank the citizens of El Dorado for thinking this is an appropriate thing to do to show that compassion."
Garner noted also that he hopes the baby box can represent hope for local women.
"It's not going to be easy to give up a baby; there's all these social pressures on top of you, there's all these conditions. But think about a mother's love to come here and say 'I can't help this baby, but I know some people that can,'" he said. "That is the hope that we have here in south Arkansas, and this box represents it. I'm so happy we came here today to have this moment. It's going to save lives, it's going to make our city better, and that hope will ring eternal."
Tia Lyons and Matt Hutcheson contributed reporting.