Peru dedicates its first Safe Haven Baby Box

PERU — Brenda Linkenhoker, a Miami County florist, remembers being on vacation last year and talking with a friend about the purpose of life and what she could do to help others.

And that’s when she saw an article about a baby who had been surrendered in a Safe Haven Baby Box.

According to the Safe Haven Baby Box’s website, the device is provided under Indiana’s Safe Haven Law, which legally “enables a person to give up an unwanted infant anonymously without fear of arrest or prosecution” as long as there are no signs of intentional abuse placed on that child.

The spacious box is temperature-controlled and is placed in an exterior wall of a designated hospital or fire station, with a door that automatically locks when an infant is placed inside.

There is also an alarm system attached to the baby box, which goes off a few seconds to alert authorities of the infant.

“So we started reading about it, and it sparked my interest,” Linkenhoker told the Tribune. “I Googled how many baby boxes were in Indiana, and it gave me a total. I then wondered, ‘Are there any in Peru?’”

Linkenhoker found her answer quickly.

There were three baby boxes surrounding Miami County — with ones in Kokomo, Logansport and Wabash — but there were none within what she believed was a reasonable distance.

So last September, she began a fundraising effort to get one a little closer to home.

And in four months, the community had already eclipsed the $20,000 goal it took to have a box installed.

Then last week, the dream finally became a reality as dozens gathered at Peru Fire Station 1, 85 W. Canal St., for a special ceremony to dedicate the city’s first Safe Haven Baby Box.

Peru’s box is the 216th Safe Haven Baby Box placed throughout the United States, and it’s the 120th one in Indiana.

“I’m just so happy and very proud that the community stepped up and said we needed one,” Linkenhoker said, referring to the baby box now located on the building’s east side. “We hope we never have to use it, but if there’s a need, we have it right here now in our own community.”

Mariah Betz is assistant project coordinator for Safe Haven Baby Boxes, which has saved 43 babies across the nation since its inception in November 2017.

“This option gives the 100% anonymity that these moms and dads need,” she told the Tribune. “Every time we install one, we always have the hope that the box is never used. We really do. But at the end of the day, it’s here for parents that are in crisis and perhaps have no other resources. This then becomes their resource.

“It’s a great thing, it really is,” Betz added. “We look at the moms and dads (who surrender an infant in a Safe Haven Baby Box) as heroes. They’re telling us that they want what’s best for their child. And right now, at that moment, it’s not them. So in our eyes, those parents are truly heroes.”

Collin Holmes and his wife Anna, who were also at the dedication ceremony, agreed with Betz.

And for a very special reason too.

In March 2023, a baby boy was surrendered to a Safe Haven Baby Box in Lake County.

At the time, the Holmes were part of The Villages, one of the state’s largest foster care and adoption organizations.

According to officials with The Villages, families like the Holmes who have already been vetted and are pre-adoptive can take in an infant surrendered in a Safe Haven Baby Box.

“So we interviewed on a Tuesday, and we got the call on a Wednesday that we were selected,” Anna said.

A couple days later, the couple brought home their son Carson, and the adoption was finalized last December.

Carson, a bubbly toddler with an infectious laugh, was also on hand last week during the ceremony in Peru.

From being safely surrendered at a Gary fire station to now a lifetime of memories ahead of him, Carson has a story with a happy ending, Anna said, all because of Safe Haven Baby Boxes.

“I’m just so thankful that his mom, or his dad, made that selfless decision for him,” Anna said. “It was a great day for us, but I’m sure that it was one of the hardest decisions they’ve ever had to make.

“And it’s also just a really good example, a visible physical example of how these are saving lives,” she added. “It’s an alternative to what could have been, and it’s making such a difference for these babies.”