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The box will be located at the fire station on Cheri Whitlock Dr.
The baby box can be seen outside of the station, and there's a latch on the box to open it in order to put the baby inside the temperature-controlled box which locks, and sounds an alarm inside the station immediately.
"It is a loving alternative to abandonment, and it offers that extra layer of anonymity so that a new mom in a crisis can make sure her baby is taken care of. It's a very difficult decision to make, but the moms who are making that decision are in a crisis," says the Organizer and Director of Audio Girl Ministries Sylvia Aimerito.
"Currently the safe haven law allows up to 72 hours without fear of prosecution for the mother," Fire Chief Jeremey Crainer explained.
Organizers have been raising money since mid-January and are about halfway to their goal of $20,000. Crainer says the donation money includes "buying the box, having it fabricated, installed in the fire station, and continued maintenance on the box, and then also an education campaign so mothers will understand and recognize that we have that location here for their use."
An important part of the $20,000 is to make sure the box is being promoted organizers say.
"A new mom in crisis is more likely to go outside of their city-- outside of where people would know them, so our baby box can be used by just about anybody," Aimerito says.
Nationwide there are 138 safe haven baby boxes -- with 11 of those in Arkansas. That includes one in Springdale, Rogers, and Fort Smith.
"There's nothing really on the western side of Benton county, or on the eastern side of the Oklahoma area that allows a mother to have this, so this would provide them that need for the community," said Crainer.
Organizers want to emphasize that when a mother drops off a newborn it's anonymous and there are no surveillance cameras, They hope to have the baby box by Spring.
www.5newsonline.com
The baby box can be seen outside of the station, and there's a latch on the box to open it in order to put the baby inside the temperature-controlled box which locks, and sounds an alarm inside the station immediately.
"It is a loving alternative to abandonment, and it offers that extra layer of anonymity so that a new mom in a crisis can make sure her baby is taken care of. It's a very difficult decision to make, but the moms who are making that decision are in a crisis," says the Organizer and Director of Audio Girl Ministries Sylvia Aimerito.
"Currently the safe haven law allows up to 72 hours without fear of prosecution for the mother," Fire Chief Jeremey Crainer explained.
Organizers have been raising money since mid-January and are about halfway to their goal of $20,000. Crainer says the donation money includes "buying the box, having it fabricated, installed in the fire station, and continued maintenance on the box, and then also an education campaign so mothers will understand and recognize that we have that location here for their use."
An important part of the $20,000 is to make sure the box is being promoted organizers say.
"A new mom in crisis is more likely to go outside of their city-- outside of where people would know them, so our baby box can be used by just about anybody," Aimerito says.
Nationwide there are 138 safe haven baby boxes -- with 11 of those in Arkansas. That includes one in Springdale, Rogers, and Fort Smith.
"There's nothing really on the western side of Benton county, or on the eastern side of the Oklahoma area that allows a mother to have this, so this would provide them that need for the community," said Crainer.
Organizers want to emphasize that when a mother drops off a newborn it's anonymous and there are no surveillance cameras, They hope to have the baby box by Spring.
Siloam Springs baby drop-off box meant for mothers in crisis
A safe haven box is a device provided under Arkansas’s state safe haven law, allowing a mother in crisis to surrender her newborn instead of abandoning it.
www.5newsonline.com
