DEFIANCE, Ohio — A growing initiative of installing baby boxes at safe haven sites in Ohio has a new location in Defiance.
A Safe Haven Baby Box was installed behind the main Defiance Fire Department this month.
Members of the Zonta Club, a group aimed at advancing the interests of women, were inspired to get one installed after seeing one installed in Hicksville.
Once the box is opened from the outside, it triggers an alert for the County Sheriff's Office and the Fire and Police Departments. Then, the outer box door locks once it closes and the baby is safe inside a climate-controlled area until a first responder can open it from the inside.
The hope is that the Safe Haven Box can offer a desperate new parent a chance to give away an unwanted child safely and anonymously.
"When I talked to Sheriff Engle, his story to me was we've had three babies; two left in a field and one in a ditch. And out of those three, only one survived." said Sherri Hammersmith of the Zonta Club of Defiance member.
The box itself cost $10,000 with some extra initiative costs. The entire project was funded through local fundraisers this spring, while contract work to install the box was done for free by local contractors.
"We have such great people living here in Defiance, and it's a community that comes together. We saw the vision and it happened," Hammersmith said.
The box will not be open to public use until after some electrical contract work is finished and the Fire and Police Departments complete some basic training.