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Monica Kelsey, CEO of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, speaks at a ceremonial blessing of a baby box at San Antonio’s Fire Station 7, at 1414 S. St. Mary’s Street in\u00a0Southtown. The specially designed boxes offer mothers in crisis a safe, anonymous way to surrender newborns.<\/p>\n
Jacob Beltran<\/p>\n
Pamela Allen, CEO of the nonprofit Eagles Flight Advocacy and Outreach, speaks at a ceremonial blessing of a Safe Haven Baby Box at San Antonio’s Fire Station 7, at 1414 S. St. Mary’s Street in Southtown. The boxes offer mothers in crisis a safe, anonymous way to surrender newborns.<\/p>\n
Jacob Beltran<\/p>\n
An instructional poster for a newly installed Safe Haven Baby Box at Fire Station 7 at 1414 S. St. Mary’s Street in Southtown.<\/p>\n
Jacob Beltran<\/p>\n
A newly installed Safe Haven Baby Box at Fire Station 7 at 1414 S. St. Mary’s Street in\u00a0Southtown.<\/p>\n
Jacob Beltran<\/p>\n
Over the years, San Antonio newborns have been abandoned in a recycling plant, in a\u00a0restroom,\u00a0in a dumpster and in a suitcase left beside a\u00a0highway.<\/p>\n
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Now, city officials hope to deter such acts of desperation by offering parents in crisis a safe, anonymous place to surrender an infant, and one where firefighters can be alerted and reach the baby quickly.<\/p>\n
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On Tuesday, the San Antonio Fire Department put into operation three specially designed Safe Haven Baby Boxes.<\/p>\n
A chaplain blessed one of the boxes at Fire Station 7, at 1414 S. St. Mary\u2019s St. in\u00a0Southtown. The two others were installed at Station 18, located at 1410 S. W.W. White Rd. on the East Side, and Station 24, at 2265 Austin Highway on the Northeast Side.<\/p>\n
\u201cIsn\u2019t it a blessing that we\u2019re here to bless a box going into a wall, so that tomorrow we don\u2019t have to bless a box going into the ground?\u201d said Monica Kelsey, founder and CEO of Safe Haven Baby Boxes.<\/a> The Indiana nonprofit operates a 24-hour hotline for mothers in crisis and supplies baby boxes “as a last resort option.”<\/p>\n Kelsey, a Navy veteran and former firefighter, was abandoned by her mother<\/a> as a newborn and raised by adoptive parents.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The temperature-controlled boxes are installed on the exterior walls of fire stations and hospitals. The box\u2019s outer door locks automatically when a newborn is placed inside, and a silent alarm alerts firefighters. An interior door in the box allows first responders instant access to retrieve the infant.<\/p>\n READ ALSO: Mystery Texas transgender mailers linked to printing firm owned by major Trump donor<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe hope no parent finds themselves with this being their only choice, but if that moment comes, we want them to know that there is a safe alternative,\u201d San Antonio Fire Chief Valerie Frausto said.<\/p>\n A newly installed Safe Haven Baby Box at Fire Station 7 at 1414 S. St. Mary’s Street in\u00a0Southtown.<\/p>\n Jacob Beltran<\/p>\n Under Texas’ Baby Moses Law, enacted in 1999, a parent may surrender an unharmed infant who is 60 days old or younger at an approved location, such as a hospital, fire station or EMS station. The law protects parents from prosecution for abandonment when its requirements are met.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n In 2023, state lawmakers expanded the law to allow approved facilities to install newborn safety devices, including baby boxes.<\/p>\n The need for safe surrender options has been underscored by recurring tragedies. In 2013, an infant\u00a0named Baby\u00a0Noel was found dead<\/a> in a duffel bag on a conveyor belt at an East Side recycling center. In 2015, a newborn named Christian was found dead<\/a> in a suitcase beside Interstate 37.<\/p>\n In January 2025, a man took a newborn from a friend\u2019s apartment to get medical care after the mother unexpectedly gave birth in a toilet<\/a> and did not seek help. In May of the same year, a dead fetus was discovered in a\u00a0dumpster on the North Side<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The city\u2019s efforts to bring the boxes to fire stations began in 2022<\/a>, when then-City Councilman John Courage proposed the idea. The city initially set aside $438,000 for 12 boxes in 2023. The number was later reduced to 10. Three have been installed.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Kelsey said\u00a0seven babies had been surrendered in Texas boxes so far this year, a record for the state.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n