Elkhorn welcomes Wisconsin's 2nd Safe Haven Baby Box

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ELKHORN, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A bittersweet day in the Whitewater area, nearly two years after a newborn boy was abandoned in a field in March 2023. Community members, sparked to make a change, did. On Monday, Nov. 25, a Safe Haven Baby Box was unveiled in nearby Elkhorn.

By the cover of night, this new box outside the Elkhorn Area Fire Department provides complete anonymity. The alarm on the box doesn't even ring immediately, allowing moms a minute to walk away unnoticed.

"I was also left at the hospital 36 years ago, with my brother," said Julianna Linssen, Safe Haven Baby Box advocate.

Juliana Linssen and her twin brother were born in Paraguay in 1988. They were quickly brought to the U.S. and left at a hospital.

"Number one, I will respect her if I ever find her; I will let her know that," said Linssen.

But today, there's a new option for mothers in southeast Wisconsin.

"It is a good day to be from Elkhorn, because today we give women another option in this community that they did not have before," said Monica Kelsey, founder and CEO of Safe Haven Baby Boxes.

Elkhorn now has only the second Safe Haven Baby Box in Wisconsin.

"There's a heater in here -- keeps it very cool, very warm," said Kelsey.

Twenty months ago, these didn't exist in Wisconsin. State law required unwanted babies be handed to a person. A memorial still sits in this Whitewater field, where a newborn was discarded by his mother who didn't want anyone to know she'd been pregnant.

"And I was getting emails to my office, saying hey, we need to work on this because this baby deserves to have this in memory of them, so it never happens again," said State Rep. Ellen Schutt, 31st Assembly district.

In memory of Baby Oak, Wisconsin law changed, allowing mothers anonymity.

"When that baby was abandoned in Whitewater, it just absolutely broke our hearts," said Michelle Shilts, of St. Patrick Catholic Church in Elkhorn.

Michelle Shilts and the St. Patrick Catholic Community raised funds to get a Safe Haven Baby Box.

"Like 50 donors, as small as $20, pressed into my hand after church one day," said Shilts.

A nearly $16,000 purchase, but saving lives is immeasurable. Linssen hopes more mothers learn there is another option, and if given the chance to say something to her biological mom today, Linssen said:

"This is gonna sound weird, but I would say thank you. I would say thank you so much for the opportunity."

The St. Patrick Church community says they'd like to see Safe Haven Baby Boxes like these outside every fire station in the state.

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