San Antonio, Texas \u2014 For years, FOX San Antonio\u2019s Yami Virgin has reported on the city\u2019s promise to install Safe Haven Baby Boxes, devices that give parents in crisis a safe, anonymous way to surrender a newborn. After years of delays, city officials now say the first installations will arrive in November.<\/p>\n
In the last year, at least three newborns were abandoned in San Antonio, one left on a sidewalk in freezing temperatures, another found in a wooded area off Austin Highway, and a newborn delivered and left in a Whataburger restroom. But there are also babies whose lives were saved, including a little girl now four years old who was safely surrendered to firefighters in a Safe Haven Baby Box.<\/a><\/p>\n San Antonio fire officials say the city is moving forward after working with architects and engineers to retrofit existing stations in key areas.<\/p>\n \u201cThe three initial stations, 24<\/a>, 18<\/a>, and 4<\/a>, should be installed and running by the end of November,\u201d said Joe Arrington, spokesperson for the San Antonio Fire Department.<\/p>\n Those three stations are on Austin Highway south of Perrin Beitel, WW White Road south of Martin Luther King Drive, and South St. Mary\u2019s Street near Central Catholic High School. Officials say the devices are critical after a recent spike in abandonments.<\/p>\n \u201cWithin the last year, it\u2019s been around two or three. There was kind of a run, unfortunately, there for a while,\u201d Arrington said.<\/p>\n Advocates have pushed for years to see the boxes installed. No one has been more vocal than Pamela Allen of Eagle\u2019s Flight Advocacy.<\/p>\n \u201cFinally, yes, I\u2019m so excited about that. This is the day we\u2019ve been waiting for,\u201d Allen said.<\/p>\n Allen said the first locations were chosen with community risk in mind. \u201cWe looked at hot-spot areas where abandoned babies have been found before,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Spreading awareness is the next hurdle, Allen added. \u201cWe\u2019ve worked with homeless outreach and VIA buses, but now the city needs to help spread the word about these new safety devices,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Arrington emphasized that safe options already exist. \u201cNo charges, no judgment. Whether there\u2019s a box or not, every fire station and every hospital is a Safe Haven location,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd after years of delays, a future with fewer tragedies may finally be in sight,\u201d Allen said. \u201cWe\u2019ll celebrate even more when we see infants safely surrendered into these devices.\u201d<\/p>\n The first three Safe Haven Baby Boxes will be at Stations 24, 18, and 4 in November. The next three are slated for stations that will be remodeled or newly built: one on South Flores near Southcross (Station 21<\/a>), another on SW 36th Street near Castroville (Station 33)<\/a>, and another on Culebra near Zarzamora (Station 10)<\/a>.<\/p>\n