A newborn is the first baby to be dropped off in a "Safe Haven box" in Florida, two years after it was first installed.
The Safe Haven program was created in 2017 and is a scheme that allows parents to safely and anonymously surrender their babies if they deem themselves unable to care for the child, in order to prevent them being left outdoors or somewhere unsafe.
As per the Daily Mail, there are 134 Safe Haven boxes dotted across the US and they have been used 23 times since the scheme was first introduced.
Florida has one of these boxes and it was used for the first time over the Christmas period - two years after it was put in place at an Ocala fire station.
Speaking to NPR, Monica Kelsey, the founder and CEO of Save Haven said: "When we launched this box in Florida, I knew it wasn't going to be an if - it was going to be a matter of when. This does not come as a surprise."
Kelsey also spoke to WESH, where she stated: "We know this baby will be so loved by an adoptive family. we are so thrilled to be a part of protecting infants from abandonment."
Ocala's Mayor Kent Guinn revealed his joy at the scheme being used successfully, saying that he is glad the resources were in place for the parent to safely hand over the child and that the infant will have a "bright future."
As reported by People, the boxes cost $10,000 to install and are then leased for $200 a month. Each box has a temperature and air-controlled environment and the metal door locks once closed.
Authorities are alerted to the presence of the baby 60 seconds after the door closes, so they can come and collect it. This gives the parent enough time to remove themselves from the scene. The box cannot be opened again from the outside - the baby can only be retrieved from inside the building where the box is located.
The boxes have also been met with critics - the New York Times published articles calling the scheme "cruel" and suggesting that the scheme is in place to dissuade pregnant women from getting abortions and that it is "blind to the damage caused to a woman who has been forced to carry an unwanted pregnancy."
Either way - we hope the baby in Florida has a great future.
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