Safe Haven Baby Boxes CEO Shows How San Angelo’s New Box Works

SAN ANGELO, TX — Officials and community members blessed and unveiled the city’s first Safe Haven Baby Box on Monday at the central fire station, giving mothers in crisis an anonymous, legal option to surrender a newborn. 

The device, mounted on the exterior wall of the station at 306 W. 1st St., is the 477th Safe Haven Baby Box in the nation and the 23rd in Texas, organizers said. It became available for use after the ceremony. 

A parent who chooses the box opens an exterior door, may take a bag of resources, places an unharmed newborn inside a heated bassinet, and closes the door. The door locks from the outside, and an alarm alerts firefighters inside the station, who retrieve the infant, perform a medical assessment, and take the baby to a hospital. Child protective services then seeks a permanent home, Safe Haven Baby Boxes founder Monica Kelsey said during a demonstration. The interior is kept between 75 and 85 degrees. 

Texas’ Safe Haven Law, also known as the Baby Moses Law, already allows a face-to-face surrender of an unharmed infant up to 60 days old at designated locations such as fire stations and hospitals. Senate Bill 780, effective Sept. 1, 2023, authorized newborn safety devices so fire departments and law enforcement agencies can lawfully accept infants surrendered that way. 

Assistant Fire Chief Johnny Fisher said the project began several years ago when Allison Johnson, then stationed at Goodfellow Air Force Base, contacted the department about installing a box. The city and fire department supported the idea, and Johnson started fundraising before she was reassigned out of state. Melanie Wood later called Fisher, learned the effort was underway, and took over fundraising.

“This box represents more than a piece of equipment installed on the side of a fire station,” Fisher said. “It represents hope. It represents compassion, and most importantly, provides an option designed to protect the life and safety of the newborn.”

Wood said she first pursued the project at the encouragement of her sister, but her reason shifted as she learned more. 

“My why became the scared mother wanting to do the right thing, and the innocent baby being given a second chance at life,” she said. She credited Fisher with preparing the station and its personnel, and thanked donors, including the Junior League of San Angelo. 

Fisher said the Junior League’s contribution, under former president Anna Augustin, supplied the final funding. He also thanked Drs. Christy and Mark Edwards of the Shannon Family Medicine Residency for sponsoring a medical bag, the Junior League for a bassinet, Ener-Tel for the alerting system, MC Electric for electrical work and Padilla Painting for installing the box and donating time and materials. 

Community donations covered the project; taxpayer dollars did not, Kelsey said. 

Augustin said the Junior League, marking 80 years of community service, hopes the box is never needed but recognizes that crises occur. 

“It provides a safe option for a mother facing an unimaginable decision, and reassurance that her precious baby will be immediately cared for, protected and loved,” she said. 

Mayor Tom Thompson thanked those who carried the project through and called children the city’s most precious responsibility. Pastor Ryan Buck of Immanuel Baptist Church offered a prayer, saying the box gives vulnerable women a safe place and a child a chance at a home. A second dedication prayer was led outside at the box. 

Kelsey, a former firefighter and medic who was abandoned as an infant, said mothers may still walk into the station and hand a child to a person — the option the organization prefers — but the box provides complete anonymity for those who want it. 

“Today we have mothers in this community with another option that they didn’t have yesterday,” she said. 

She said 87 infants have been surrendered through the organization’s boxes in nine years, along with 229 face-to-face handoffs, and that seven infants have been surrendered through boxes in Texas this year. The resource bag includes information on the law, post-birth warning signs, trafficking awareness, and a letter, in English and Spanish, plus a voluntary registry for medical or family details. 

Also recognized were U.S. Rep. August Pfluger’s office, state Rep. Drew Darby’s office, City Manager Phillip Urrutia, and City Councilmember Patrick Keely.