Florida Catholic | Florida’s Safe Havens Have Catholic Origins

Florida’s safe havens have Catholic origins

LAURA DODSON | FLORIDA CATHOLIC CORRESPONDENT

Published: 06.06.08

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“A baby is a most precious gift, an absolute miracle,” said Nick Silverio, founder of A Safe Haven for Newborns. “When a baby is saved I am overwhelmed with joy and feel humbled that we helped save that innocent child.”

A Safe Haven for Newborns is the first major project of the Gloria M. Silverio Foundation, a nonprofit organization started by south Florida Catholic Nick Silverio to honor the memory of his wife, Gloria, who died in an accident Dec. 7, 1999, and who had devoted her life to the causes of children and the elderly. Its mission is: “To save the precious lives of newborns in danger of abandonment and to help preserve the health of their mothers and the future of their mothers and fathers.”

A Safe Haven For Newborns is a response to the Safe Haven Law passed by the Florida Legislature in July 2000. The law was enacted to avert newborn abandonment by providing anonymity and freedom from reprisal for the parents of an infant within the first three days of life who bring the child to a safe haven. (An enhancement of the law extending the time period to seven days was passed this year and will go into effect July 1.)

The effort for safe havens was started in 2000 by Bishop Norbert M. Dorsey, now retired, who was the bishop of the Orlando Diocese at the time.

“We were in conference with the governor (Jeb Bush) and several key staff,” Bishop Dorsey said. “I waited on purpose until most of the agenda had been discussed. I figured that everyone would be a little weaker. I waited and then asked why the state of Florida didn’t have a law decriminalizing infant abandonment as in other states. Gov. Bush turned to his assistant and said, ‘Let’s put this on the agenda.’”

State Rep. Rene Garcia, a south Florida Republican and parishioner at Immaculate Conception Parish in Hialeah, provided this insight: “The law was passed in 2000, but it was never funded. Nick got behind it and had huge struggles, but seeing his passion and drive and what one man can do inspired me to be a champion for this cause. I turned the recent legislation amending the bill (to extend the time period for leaving an infant and to permit a mother who delivers at a hospital to leave her name off the birth certificate) into a committee bill so my political adversaries wouldn’t kill it because it’s my bill. It passed unanimously.”

The keystones of the Save Haven project are a 24/7 statewide multilingual help line, which in addition to assisting pregnant women or mothers in crisis now also provides assistance for a wide variety of issues; production of educational and informational videos and materials in both English and Spanish; and public awareness campaigns led by a volunteer network and media/public relations participation including news, radio, television, Internet, signage at Safe Haven locations, billboards, buses, trains and most recently car decals. n

For more information, to volunteer or to donate, please see the Web site, www.asafehavenfornewborns.org; contact Nick E. Silverio at A Safe Haven For Newborns, 6801 N.W. 77 Ave., Miami, FL 33166; or call 1-305-882-1304, ext. 103.

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Florida’s safe havens have Catholic origins

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