Safe surrender box coming to Calgary

Six years after a heartbreaking child abandonment case in Bowness, Calgary is finally welcoming it’s first safe surrender site for babies.

Construction on the Children’s Cottage Society building in Montgomery is well underway and expected to be completed in February, which will include Hope’s Cradle.

Hope’s Cradle will be an anonymous drop off site for new parents unable to care for their infants, which will be heated, secured, and will prompt an alarm when used.

Sarah Hughes, director of development for the Children’s Cottage Society says there are many reasons why one might opt to use the nursery, adding her biological mother did the same with her when she was born.

“It can be societal pressure, it can be mental health issues, it can be family circumstances, it can be anything, or a combination of all the above,” she said. “But, if it’s done right, it works. For me, it worked.”

The cradle will be located not far from the northwest community of Bowness, which is where a newborn baby was found dead in a dumpster on Boxing Day in 2017.

Hughes said this case shows just how badly a site like this is needed in Calgary, noting that Edmonton’s safe surrender sites have been used twice since 2013.

Read more: Calgary woman who left body of newborn in dumpster receives calls for jailtime

While construction is nearing completion, the non-profit is hoping to secure $6 million in financial support to help pay for their new building.

Hughes says this will be the first of its kind in Calgary.

“We’re not concerned with the reasons, we’re concerned with the safety of the child,” she said. “So, the small door — for lack of a better phrase is on the side of the building and it says quite clearly on the outside it’s a Hope’s Cradle. Inside the door is a warmed, small room that contains a bassinet and a package for the parents.”

The package will include information on supports for parents, as well as details on how the babies will be cared for, and what to do if the parents change their mind.

Hughes says even though data on child abandonment cases can be misleading, as oftentimes, most go unreported. But, there is a demand for sites like this in Alberta.

“It’s more common that is officially reported. We know the other cradles in our province have been used twice, which may not seem like a lot but that’s two babies who were surrendered and had a better chance at life, so that’s two successes,” she said. “We know from talking to all of our 911 agencies in the city who have been amazing at partnering with us on this — police, EMS, and fire — everybody has those close calls or those cases that didn’t end in disaster.”

In 2013, Edmonton began offering two sites across the city, which have been used twice since.