In 2014, the body of a newborn boy was found abandoned in a drain. The following week, the body of another baby was discovered buried in the sand at Maroubra Beach in Sydney, Australia. The two cases were unrelated, but the horror was enough to inspire one Sydney mother to take serious action when it seemed no one else would.
Catherine Lucre is a 56-year-old mother-of-four who works as a registered nurse and midwife. Fed up with cases of babies being abandoned and left to die, Lucre set up a Facebook group called "Operation Safe Haven," with one simple yet powerful mission: to encourage anyone in need of a safe place to anonymously leave his or her baby to contact her. "If you're in distress or don't know what to do or you're scared or alone or worried for whatever reason… if you just have no other means of caring for your infant, contact me," she says.
As a midwife, Lucre knows firsthand that many mothers aren't aware of the services available to them, and that some women feel it necessary to abandon their babies — whether they were forced to hide their pregnancies or they suffer from mental health issues. But at the end of the day, the helpless babies are her main concern. Under Operation Safe Haven, Lucre is willing to travel to a birth mother's house or meeting place to pick up a baby. She also keeps a bassinet at her front door to collect any unwanted infants. If a mother doesn't want to meet face-to-face and drop off the baby anonymously, Lucre will leave it for ten seconds before she answers. She would then immediately take the baby to a hospital and contact the Department of Community Services and police, but promises to maintain the mother's privacy.
The kindhearted mother has received a ton of positive feedback, and she has become a local hero.
What an incredible woman. Please SHARE her story with your friends on Facebook!
