Gadsden, AL – Thursday, the City of Gadsden and Safe Haven Baby Box Founder Monica Kelsey dedicated the baby box at Gadsden Fire Department Station No. 3 at 300 Garden Street in Gadsden.
It is open and ready for use after today’s blessing administered by Pastor Mark Price from Church of the Highlands – Gadsden Campus.
Madison was the site of the state’s first box in January 2024 and has already been used twice to surrender newborns. The state’s other baby box is located in Prattville.
Today, Gadsden Mayor Craig Ford announced he will pursue a second baby box in Gadsden in a fire station near Gadsden City High School.
Alabama’s Safe Haven law was expanded when House Bill 473 passed in 2023 to allow a mother to anonymously surrender a child under 45 days old to fire stations that are staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week year-round, provided they have at least one emergency medical services personnel.
The boxes, mounted outside of a building, lock once a baby has been placed inside, and the door is closed. An alarm alerts medical staff on-site; they can secure the newborn inside the building within a few moments.
The Kids to Love Foundation spearheaded the effort to expand the Safe Haven law and has since secured funding from an anonymous donor to place baby boxes in cities like Gadsden across Alabama. Etowah County’s House of Representatives members (Butler, Gidley, and Lipscomb) co-sponsored the bill to expand the state’s safe haven law.
“We are happy to see this new box open in the city of Gadsden,” said Kids to Love Founder and CEO Lee Marshall. “We have already seen in Madison that there is a need for a place for parents to surrender babies that they felt, for whatever reason, they were not able to parent. We are committed to giving these children a chance to thrive in whatever way we can, and we are thankful for our anonymous donor who shares our vision and made these boxes possible.”
Safe Haven Baby Boxes was formed by Monica Kelsey in 2016 as she learned in adulthood that she was abandoned as an infant. Today, the organization fights tirelessly to protect women in crisis and their infants in a mission to end infant abandonment.
Mayor Ford said, “Surrendering a newborn is a tremendously difficult decision, and if someone has decided to take that step, we want to ensure it can be done in the safest manner possible. These Baby Boxes have already saved precious lives in Alabama, and we want to do anything we can to make that process safer in Gadsden. Facilitating that responsibility is an honor and a blessing for our city.”
The Safe Haven Baby Boxes organization aids women in crisis with their National Hotline, 1- 866-99BABY1. The hotline provides free, confidential counseling with expertise in each state’s Safe Haven Law. Education is a critical component of Safe Haven Baby Boxes’ mission.
Kelsey shared, “Wow, it’s been quite the year for Alabama already! We are so ecstatic to see a new state take off with locations dedicated to protecting vulnerable mothers and their infants. It is such a blessing for these communities to have leaders that are stepping up to prevent tragedies and end infant abandonment.”
