The state's first Safe Haven Baby Box was unveiled in front scores of residents, law enforcement and fire officials, as well as politicians and well-wishers at the southeast corner of the newly built fire and police building in Ocala.
The occasion, attended by Monica Kelsey, founder and CEO of the Safe Haven Baby Box and Linda Znachko, founder of He Knows Your Name, was to let people know that a parent can leave a child in a safe environment. "Every life matters," Znachko said Tuesday afternoon, minutes before Ocala Fire Rescue Chief Shane Alexander removed a black bag used to conceal the box at 505 NW Martin Luther King Jr. Ave.
According to a Safe Haven Baby Boxes information pamphlet, it's the first safe baby box in Florida, and the 53rd for the United States. The first baby box was made available to the public in Woodburn, Indiana, in April 2016.