Ardmore added its name to the list of cities in Oklahoma and throughout the nation who have a Safe Haven Baby Box.

A dedication for the box, located at Ardmore Fire Station No. 2, took place Tuesday afternoon. The box offers a safe and anonymous option for parents who are in crisis and need to surrender an infant. Located on the east side of the building, the box, which is temperature controlled, can only be opened from the inside of the building once an infant has been placed inside of it. A notification is sent to Fire Station 1 when an infant has been surrendered.

AFD Training Officer Jason Woydziak said there was a call in 2023 in which a baby had been abandoned in a dumpster that led to him seeking a solution.

“For me personally, it just didn’t sit right with me,” he said. “I went home and for two days, it bothered me. Then, by chance, I was scrolling through Facebook of all things and came across a video of Monica (Kelsey) talking about Safe Haven Baby Boxes.”

Woydziak looked into it and brought it to former Fire Chief Cary Williamson, who suggested the possibility of building it into Fire Station 2 when it was constructed.

“Here we are, two-and-a-half, three years later,” he said. “We have one that we have been able to bring into the community. I would like to thank the commissioners, our city leaders for supporting us and letting us bring this to the community.”

Safe Haven Executive Assistant Jessi Getrost provided the background for baby boxes, which began with Kelsey during a trip to Cape Town, South Africa. She saw a box on the side of a church for infants to be surrendered in response to the number of babies that had been abandoned.

During a flight home, she drew a prototype box on a napkin. There was more work to be done at the legislative level with Indiana being the first state to approve the necessary laws for the box. To date, 23 states have approved legislation.

“We want to let parents know they have the anonymous option, should they choose it, to safely and legally surrender their infants,” she said. “We hope that one day we can end infant abandonments in this country.”

There are now 348 baby box locations in the nation, seven of which are in Oklahoma. Since 2017, 59 infants have been safely and legally surrendered in a baby box. The Safe Haven Crisis Line has also assisted with over 150 handoff surrenders.

“This box will now be open in Ardmore and the surrounding areas, offers no shame, no name and no blame,” she said.

The Southern Oklahoma Memorial Foundation also played a financial role in the installation of the baby box a reality. Executive Director Mary Kate Wilson said the foundation supports the health and wellbeing of southern Oklahoma residents, no matter the age.

“We were really pleased to be able to support this unique addition to the fire station and given that this project was under construction, we were happy to join with the taxpayers who funded the building to allow for the addition of the baby box.”

Mayor John Credle also offered a blessing for the box.

Infants that have been surrendered are adopted by families who have registered as foster to adopt with the Department of Family Services coordinating the process.

The fire station is located at 1012 E. Main St. Those needing someone to speak with can call the national crisis hotline at 1-866-99BABY1.