Calgary now has a safe surrender site for babies
Calgary now has a safe surrender site for babies, not far from the site where a newborn was found dead in a Bowness dumpster seven years ago.
"Like many Calgarians we were impacted by the death of the infant," said Lisa Garrisen, director of programs with Children's Cottage Society (CCS).
"We knew we wanted to do something that would provide an alternative for parents if they were in desperate situations."
CCS opened a new Child and Family Centre in Montgomery, located at 1804 Home Road N.W., earlier this month, and on Monday opened the Hope’s Cradle near the building’s entrance.
The cradle is an anonymous drop-off site where an infant can be left in a heated, secured bed, signalling a silent alarm which informs staff.
When leaving a baby, the parent can take an information package about available health and social services.
"If a parent is in a circumstance where they are absolutely certain that they are unable to care for an infant, they know there's a way to safely get them to people who will receive them and care for them and connect them to the resources they need to grow up healthy and happy," said Garrisen.
"And then it gives both the parent and the infant the opportunity to look at their future and figure out what that could be."
The cradle adds to the existing resources meant to help parents surrender children safely and access resources themselves.
"We want to make this a really well known alternative."
Hope's Cradle was developed because of the newborn girl placed in a Bowness dumpster on Christmas Eve 2017.
The 19 year-old mother responsible was not given jail time.
The Calgary woman said her baby was born alive but stopped breathing soon after.
When she couldn’t revive her newborn she wrapped the infant in bags and left her in a dumpster at a Bowness trash and recycling drop-off site.
In 2022, Nina Albright received a sentence of 18 months probation after pleading guilty to interfering with a dead body.
A judge ruled that jail time would be excessive in this case.
Homicide detective Dave Sweet was part of the investigation team when the baby’s body was found.
"Children's Cottage it's almost situated in the shadow of what happened back in 2017," said the now retired Calgary Police Service officer.
"I think the story of Baby Eve, as she was coined, shows that you're not too small to make a difference, and one of those things in her legacy is this cradle program."
Sweet volunteers with a group called Gems for Gems, which opened a Hope's Cradle drop-off at Strathmore's fire station in 2021 before working with Children’s Cottage to create its cradle.
"We're just trying to create another option, and a safe option for these babies," said Jordan Guildford, founder of Gems for Gems.
In a separate program, Covenant Health developed two safe surrender sites in Edmonton, near the emergency departments of the Grey Nuns Community Hospital and Misericordia Community Hospital
Since their inception in 2013, Edmonton's Angel Cradles have been used twice.
"Even if its one life, this is all worth it," said Garrisen.
"It is the difference between a life of maybe danger and harm and a life that's full of possibility."
The other goal is to create more awareness and compassion for parents who might make the decision to use a cradle.
"We want the community to learn about understanding and kindness and thinking about how selfless this parent was," said Garrisen.
"It's very easy to villainize women who will make this choice, but we want people to understand that these women are being very brave," said Guildford.
Gems for Gems has helped open Hope’s Cradles in four Canadian cities, and hopes to have one in every major city and some towns across the country.
"Our goals are lofty, because the need is very high," said Guildford.
"In Alberta we expect a few more popping up this year."
She said the cost of creating one is about $25,000.
Garrisen said partnering with Gems for Gems made the process easy and hopes others will consider adding them as well.
"We have one safe surrender site in Calgary and that’s amazing, but we need more," said Garrisen.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Child under 5 dies of measles in Ontario: PHO
A young child has died of measles in Ontario, marking the first death in the province from the highly contagious virus in more than 10 years, a Public Health Ontario report confirms.
NEW Pack the macaroni necklace: Lessons on evacuations from a woman who fled one of Canada's worst wildfires
Carol Christian had 15 minutes to evacuate her home during the Fort McMurray wildfires in 2016. She ended up losing the house and everything inside. Now, she wants to share the lessons she learned.
Think twice before sharing 'heartbreaking' social media posts, RCMP warn
Mounties in B.C. are urging people to think twice before sharing "heartbreaking posts" on social media.
'Ugly produce': One way Canadians are shrinking rising grocery bills
As the cost of food in Canada has risen, grocery shoppers are looking at ways to reduce their grocery bill, and more are choosing price over beauty, turning to companies that deliver so-called 'misfit' produce at a fraction of the cost.
Vatican revamps norms to evaluate visions of Mary as it adapts to Internet age and combats hoaxers
The Vatican on Friday radically reformed its process for evaluating alleged visions of the Virgin Mary, weeping statues and other seemingly supernatural phenomena, insisting on having the final say in whether the events are worthy of popular devotion.
Wildfires burning across Canada: Communities threatened as flames creep closer
Thousands of residents fled Fort McMurray this week, fearing a repeat of the 2016 wildfire that forced out the entire community and torched more than 2,400 homes.
5 secrets to moving better and preventing avoidable injury
Countless people seek emergency care for back pain, muscle strains and similar injuries resulting from “moving wrong” during mundane, everyday tasks such as bending over to tie shoes, lifting objects or doing household chores.
Trudeau calls New Brunswick's Conservative government a 'disgrace' on women's rights
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assailed New Brunswick's premier and other conservative leaders on Thursday, calling out the provincial government's position on abortion, LGBTQ youth and climate change.
French police fatally shoot a man suspected of setting fire to a synagogue
French police shot and killed a man armed with a knife and a metal bar who is suspected of having set fire to a synagogue in the Normandy city of Rouen early on Friday, the latest apparent act in a storm of antisemitism roiling France amid the Israel-Hamas war.