On Friday, the fire department and Safe Haven Baby Boxes is holding blessing for the box at 2 p.m. Friday at Station 30 located at 7401 Lena Lane. The baby box added in Halls is the fourth in Tennessee and funding for the project was provided by the Craig Foundation, Knox County Government, and Rural Metro Fire – Knox County.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes serve as a safe and legal option for parents to surrender their unharmed newborn infants under the Safe Haven law. Every state has a version of a Safe Haven law, but in Tennessee , the law specifically allows mothers to surrender unharmed babies at designated facilities within two weeks of their birth without fear of being prosecuted.
The Safe Haven Baby Box at Rural Metro Station 30 in Halls. (Rural Metro Fire)
When the Baby Box door is opened, a silent alarm is sounded, as well as when the baby is placed in the bassinet and when the door shuts and automatically locks. After, a first responder retrieves the infant, Safe Haven says on their website that this usually happens within two minutes, and then the baby is taken to a hospital for medical evaluation.
So far in 2024, five infants were surrendered in a baby box. Since Safe Haven began installing Baby Boxes, more than 140 babies have been surrendered under Safe Haven Laws, and 43 of those have been surrendered in Baby Boxes. Currently, there are more than 200 Baby Boxes in 16 different states.
In addition to giving parents an option to surrender a newborn while being protected from being seen as a last resort, Safe Haven also operates a national, 24-hour hotline for women in crisis. To date, that hotline, where women can receive counseling and assistance free of charge, has received more than 9,000 calls from every state in the U.S.
To reach the hotline, call or text 1-866-99BABY1
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