Ginny and Jim Faust listen to the Safe Haven Baby Box ceremony at Greenfield Fire Territory Station 422.
GREENFIELD — Ginny Faust is always searching for a rainbow. She sees them as a sign from her daughter, Trisha Lynn (Faust) Dillman, who passed away Jan. 7, 2022 from COVID, that everything is going to be alright. Trisha, 53, was a former dedicated labor, delivery, neonatal nurse and administrative assistant who loved helping children.
While no rainbows were seen Saturday morning, it was still a special and poignant time for the family, as well as for the community.
In front of a standing room crowd, Ginny, her husband Jim Faust and the rest of the family along with officials from Greenfield, including members of the Greenfield Fire Territory, dedicated the state’s 96th Safe Haven Baby Box at Station 422 to Trisha.
This past summer, the Faust and Dillman families partnered with the Life Choices Care Center to help raise funds needed to bring a Safe Haven Baby Box to the city of Greenfield to honor Trisha’s memory and love for children.
The box was put into service Saturday as soon as the special dedication ceremony wrapped.
“Today is the day,” Ginny Faust said. “It seems like it’s taken forever, but we’re so excited … Trisha would be at awe of all the people here and would probably roll her eyes, but she’d be so thrilled.”
Ginny Faust noted the family has been humbled knowing how so many people got behind their idea to bring another Baby Box to the area. County officials installed a Baby Box in Fortville in October of 2019.
The new Baby Box is located on the southeast corner of GFT Station 422, 210 W. New Road, Greenfield, just west of State Street. The Baby Box is clearly marked with a special plaque and photo of Trisha Faust Dillman. The hope is any mother struggling or in need of abandoning their infant will do so in a Baby Box rather than leave the infant elsewhere to die.
A Baby Box allows for the legal, safe and anonymous surrender of an infant provided under the Safe Haven law.
Indiana’s Safe Haven Law, passed in 2000, allows a person to anonymously surrender an unwanted infant no more than 30 days old without fear of arrest or prosecution. The person is not required to provide any information as long as there are no signs of intentional abuse. Once the baby is examined and given any needed medical treatment, the Indiana Department of Child Services takes the baby into custody before placing the baby with a caregiver.
“Even if we save one baby, it’s well worth it,” GFT Chief Jason Horning said. “We really appreciate the effort of everyone involved to bring this to our community — it’s a great option for mothers who can’t care for their child.”
Indiana leads the nation with the most Safe Haven Baby Boxes with 96 units, officials from Safe Haven said in a release. There are now 137 Baby Boxes throughout the country.
Trisha’s husband, Jeff Dillman, attended the ceremony and noted it was a happy day filled with mixed emotions.
“We’re excited, proud and emotional,” Dillman said. “Trisha would be very proud and, while she was not one to be the center of attention, she would be extremely proud.”
Trisha’s brother, Chris Faust, is a division chief for the GFT and works from the GFT station in downtown Greenfield. His son, and Ginny’s grandson, Isiah Faust, along with another grandson, Jimmy Burns, are also local firefighters and work at the station where the new Baby Box has been installed.
Greenfield Mayor Chuck Fewell spoke at the dedication ceremony and noted having a Baby Box in Greenfield is just another way for Greenfield first responders to help the community.
“People wake up every day with great ideas and this Baby Box is a great idea,” Fewell said. “We have the place to help right here in this fire department … I hope we never have to use it but, you know, what if a mother just can’t cope. Whatever the case may be, we now have a Safe Haven to help.”
In an effort to celebrate the life of the last abandoned baby found dead in Indiana, baby Amelia, the local Greenfield Baby Box also has a cement heart at the base of the Baby Box dedicated to the baby. Amelia was abandoned Dec. 28, 2014, at Eagle Creek Park. She was found wrapped inside a Vincennes University sweatshirt. Thanks to hard work, to date, Amelia is the last baby officials have found abandoned and deceased.
Officials also dedicated a Baby Box bench in the name of 14-year-old Ataya R. Kaser of Leo-Cedarville who was killed in a traffic crash in October 2018. Ataya was a huge supporter of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, attending events with her mother who is a SHBB volunteer. The young teen was most fascinated by purse bingo fundraisers and wanted to start volunteering to help with them when she turned 18.
As for the Faust and Dillman families, they feel good about leaving a legacy for Trisha. They’ll continue to look upward for a sign knowing Trisha is at peace and would be pleased with the new Safe Haven Baby Box.
“I’m still looking for that rainbow in the sky today because that’s been our thing since Trisha passed,” Ginny Faust said. “Every day something miraculous has happened we’ve seen a rainbow in the sky and this Baby Box, it is a very good thing.”
