HOBBS, N.M. (KLBK) – An infant was surrendered to the Safe Haven Baby Box in Hobbs, New Mexico, early last week, according to a press release. This marks the third Baby Box surrender at the location in under two years.
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The location, opened in May 2023 at 301 East White Street in Hobbs, provides a safe, legal, and anonymous surrender option for mothers in crisis. The box is equipped with three silent alarms to alert first responders when an infant is placed inside. The baby is attended to in under five minutes and taken to a hospital for medical evaluation.
“Abandonment rates are going down in the communities that have these boxes, and Hobbs is no exception,” said Monica Kelsey, founder and CEO of Safe Haven Baby Boxes. “This community is radically changed by the availability of an option for safe, anonymous surrender. Three mothers have selflessly used this location now in under two years since the box was blessed and available for parents in crisis.”
Kelsey noted the contrast between the current situation and a tragic incident in January 2022 when a teenage mother was caught on camera tossing her newborn into a dumpster. It took six hours for dumpster divers to hear the baby’s cries and rescue him.
“This baby that was placed last week in our Baby Box in Hobbs was in the box for 2 minutes versus the 6 hours that baby was in that dumpster,” Kelsey said. “Would it have made a difference if we had installed the box a few years earlier? I think the answer to that question is probably yes.”
The Safe Haven Baby Box program has been successful across the country. Since 2017, 58 infants have been safely surrendered through the program. Kelsey added, “We have 335 active boxes in the United States, and we’re not finding dead babies in these communities anymore. We’re finding babies in our boxes, like Hobbs.”
Kelsey emphasized that the Baby Box system provides anonymity for mothers who may be in crisis but are unable or unwilling to walk into a fire station to surrender their baby directly to a person.
“Just give these parents what they’ve been asking for many years, and that’s anonymity,” Kelsey said. “We’re not taking anything away either. A parent can still walk into a fire station and hand their child to a person, but if they can’t or won’t, we have to have this option available to save the lives of these kids.”
The laws regarding the surrender of infants differ by state. In New Mexico, a baby can be surrendered up to three months old, while in Texas, the window is 60 days. Lubbock Fire Station No. 9 and Wolfforth Fire and EMS also have Baby Boxes available.
For more information, please contact Monica Kelsey at MonicaKelsey@safehavenbabyboxes.com.