Russellville becomes 24th Alabama city with a Safe Haven Baby Box

A ‘no judgment’ zone.

That’s how Russellville’s new option for desperate mothers of newborn infants was described at Monday’s dedication ceremony.

A Safe Haven Baby Box was installed and formally dedicated September 1st at the Russellville Fire Department Station One, located on South Jackson Avenue.

Russellville’s Safe Haven Baby Box became the 24th in Alabama and 469th nationally to become operational.

According to the Safe Haven Baby Box website, www.shbb.org, the boxes offer a compassionate and secure option for mothers in crisis who are unable or unwilling to care for their newborns. Designed with innovative safety features, the boxes are installed on the exterior walls of fire stations and hospitals, with no video surveillance, allowing for the safe and anonymous surrender of infants.

The exterior door locks automatically when a newborn is placed inside, and an interior door allows medical personnel to promptly and securely retrieve the baby, ensuring immediate care and protection. And once the door closes, it latches securely and cannot be reopened, putting a safety mechanism in place. That’s followed by a short delay of time to allow the mother to leave, then a silent alarm, triggered once the door is open, alerts 911 and first responders are immediately notified within the fire department.

The Safe Haven Baby Box organization was founded by its CEO Monica Kelsey, with the goal of preventing illegal abandonment of newborns by offering a 24-hour hotline for mothers in crisis and through raising awareness of the issue. The boxes are a last resort option for women who want to safely surrender their child with complete anonymity.

Kelsey was abandoned as an infant after her mother was raped and became pregnant. She’s used her personal story as a motivation to work toward preserving the sanctity of all human life.

Baby Box laws are fairly new, and constantly evolving to adapt to the growing need for this safe option.

The Alabama Legislature enacted a Safe Haven Law, Alabama Code 26-25-1, that allows for Safe Haven Baby Box surrender sites to designated as Safe Haven Surrender Sites, giving the mother full anonymity and immunity, provided that the newborn infant is 45 days old or younger and showing no signs of intentional abuse.

Russellville Mayor David Grissom spoke at Monday’s ceremony, expressing his appreciation to each person and organization who worked together to make a Russellville Safe Haven Baby Box a reality.

“I appreciate everyone buying in and being on the same team with this. And I am especially appreciative of all our firemen—each of you fully dedicated to making today happen,” Grissom said. “I hope our box never gets used, but it’s in place if needed and our team can take care of everything if an infant is surrendered here.”

Gateway Church Pastor Nick McSpadden, Calvary Baptist Church Pastor Wade Wallace and North Highlands Church of Christ member Jimmy Pinzon each spoke and led prayers as part of the dedication.

Two anonymous donors’ generous donations have ensured that all costs, training and staffing of the Safe Haven Baby Box in Russellville will be fully paid for the next 20 years.

Hovater Metal Works of Russellville installed the box at no cost to the city.

RFD Captain Jeremy Glenn spearheaded the department’s lengthy process of becoming certified and approved as a Safe Haven Baby Box location.

As Glenn addressed the crowd Monday, the emotion of how important the Baby Box was to him came through in his words.

“This is something we’ve been working on since 2024 and it’s very near and dear to my heart,” Glenn said. “Over time, if we had had one of these, lives might have been saved.

“The mothers who surrender are true heroes who want a better life for their child. It’s a very unselfish act. And it can be done with no explanation needed. This is not about judgement. It’s not about why or how the mother’s situation came about. Sometimes there are life circumstances where a mother is unable to take care of a baby. That’s why this program is in place,” he added.