Camden County installs first Safe Haven baby box

CAMDENTON, Mo. (KMIZ)

Camden County has opened its first Safe Haven baby box outside of the Mid County Fire Protection District station in Camdenton.

Community members and first responders gathered Wednesday morning for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially unveil the safety box and conduct a final inspection of its alert system.

The box allows parents in a crisis to anonymously surrender infants, who will be taken and cared for by first responders.

State Rep. Jeff Vernetti, R-Camdenton, helped spearhead the project after learning about and getting inspired by the organization's efforts nationwide.

"I had heard the term, but I had no idea that the actual box function part of it was a thing people did," said Vernetti. "I didn't know that it saved as many babies as it did, and I knew that we just didn't have a lot in Missouri, so I just thought it'd be a perfect fit for this community."

Vernetti said he raised approximately $17,000 from local businesses to purchase and ship the device. Local contractors donated their resources to install the box at the station.

To meet program guidelines, the box must be installed in a fire station staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The unit is temperature-controlled and automatically alerts emergency personnel inside as soon as a child is placed inside. To protect the anonymity of the parent, no cameras are permitted to face the exterior door.

Vernetti said this baby box is a great opportunity to help out the community and plans to install a second device for the Lake of the Ozarks region at the Lake Ozark Fire Protection District later this year.

"This community is very inspiring," Vernetti said. "People will always step forward here for families, people in need, but especially kids."

The installation marks the 14th Safe Haven Baby Box in Missouri.