CV NEWS FEED // In response to increased infant abandonment in Florida some twenty years ago, one man began a nonprofit organization to provide for mothers and their babies—now, years later, his nonprofit has saved over 370 babies in Florida and helped over 6,000 women and girls through problems and obstacles in motherhood.
Though infant abandonment is rare in the US, it can still occur when parents don’t have the resources they need to care for a child. The National Safe Haven Alliance reported that since 1999, over 1,600 babies have been illegally abandoned by their parents in boxes, backpacks, rivers, bags, blankets, or dumpsters. A Safe Haven for Newborns, a Florida nonprofit founded by Nick Silverio in 2001, said that 61 Florida babies have been found abandoned in dangerous places since 2000.
To protect these infants, all 50 states have since enacted some variation of a safe haven law, which enables a mother to leave her newborn baby at an authorized location, usually a fire department or hospital. Florida’s safe haven legislation, which was passed in 2000, allows a mother to anonymously deliver her newborn to an employee at a safe haven location without facing criminal charges for abandonment.
A Safe Haven for Newborns is dedicated to spreading awareness about the safe haven law and partnering with first responder stations throughout the state. Though the organization is focused on providing safe drop-off places for babies, its main goal is to provide pregnant mothers with the resources they need to be able to keep their babies.
Silverio told CatholicVote that the organization is the only one of its kind in Florida. According to him, A Safe Haven for Newborns partners with every fully staffed 24/7 fire station and hospital to provide alternatives to abandonment for mothers.
“Newborn babies are being left to die by mothers who believe, for whatever reason, that they have no other alternative… Not all pregnancies are planned, not all women are ready to have a baby and may be confused and scared about what to do,” Safe Haven for Newborns said.
Examples of infant abandonment include mothers leaving their babies in dumpsters to die, or other young mothers abandoning their babies in bushes, driveways, or outside churches.
Many of these abandonment cases have to do with inadequate conditions for raising a child, mental health concerns, or drug abuse. Other mothers have no resources or are themselves abandoned by their family and friends. To counteract these circumstances, Safe Haven for Newborns provides a 24/7 hotline for any mothers in need, and connects them with safe haven facilities. The organization also provides resources for healthcare, housing, legal situations, burial services for infants that do not survive, adoption, financial needs, counseling, and education for pregnant mothers.
“Our goal is to help a mom keep her baby. Our hotline is for mothers who are pregnant and don’t know what to do – those who have no resources, no support. Our mission is to get the mom help so she can keep her baby. If she’s not able to keep the baby, then she can use the safe haven program,” Silverio told CatholicVote.
Silverio was careful to emphasize that A Safe Haven for Newborns is not a counseling center. Rather, the organization works to get the resources that mothers need to care for their babies.
According to the organization, safe haven laws not only protect infants’ lives, but also protect the parents from guilt and criminal charges. First responders take care of babies left at safe haven locations before matching them with families looking to adopt.
Silverio told CatholicVote that since its foundation in 2001, Safe Haven for Newborns has saved 369 infants in Florida, nine babies in other states, and one in Honduras. Each of these babies were either rescued through the safe haven drop-offs, or saved through resources and aid for their mothers. Silverio also said that, while permanent elimination of infant abandonment is impossible, there were no infant abandonments in Florida from 2020 to 2022.
Silverio also said that over the years, the safe haven program has saved lives in surprising ways, citing an anecdote where robbers hijacked a car and then realized an eight-month-old baby was inside. According to Silverio, the robbers brought the baby to a fire station and abandoned the car—and after phone calls to A Safe Haven for Newborns, the mother was reunited with her baby.
“Even robbers know about the safe havens,” Silverio said proudly.
