Kentucky gets new Safe Haven Baby Box locations to prevent infant abandonment
Nearly 500 Safe Haven Baby Boxes have now been installed at fire departments and other places across the nation in an effort to allow mothers in crisis a safe and anonymous place to surrender their infants.
Two local Kentucky communities this week celebrated installations of new Safe Haven Baby Boxes, which offer a legal and anonymous way for mothers in crisis to surrender a newborn in a safe environment to competent authorities.
The new locations in Elizabethtown and Leitchfield come two months after the neighboring Fire Department in Radcliff installed a baby box, the costs of which had been mainly fundraised by the Knights of Columbus Council 12623. According to a recent press release from the nonprofit Safe Haven Baby Boxes, there are now 73 baby boxes in Kentucky and 493 nationwide.
Kentucky Right to Life celebrated the latest installations in Leitchfield and Elizabethtown, saying “they represent hope, compassion, and a commitment to protecting vulnerable newborns while providing mothers in crisis with a safe, confidential option.”
The Elizabethtown Fire Department Station held a special event to bless its new baby box on Nov. 13. A press release from Safe Haven Baby Box thanked community leaders and the local Christian churches Severns Valley and Grace Heartland for their contributions to make the life-saving Baby Box a reality.
Monica Kelsey, founder and CEO of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, praised the community in Elizabethtown that stepped up to offer life-saving support for infants.
“Infant abandonment is preventable, and communities like Elizabethtown are proving it one Baby Box at a time,” Kelsey said in the release. “This box is about more than a building or a piece of equipment; it is about making sure the next baby in crisis gets a chance at life. We are so grateful to everyone in Elizabethtown who said yes to saving lives.”
According to The News Enterprise, Kelsey herself was abandoned as an infant and later adopted.
“I couldn’t be more proud to be the front runner of this organization,” Kelsey told attendees in September at the Radcliff baby box installation event.
The outlet also spotlighted 17-year-old Louisville resident Isabella Lamkin, a Safe Haven teen spokesperson, who expressed gratitude for Kentucky’s efforts to prevent infant abandonment. Lamkin was abandoned outside an orphanage when she was less than two days old, according to the outlet.
“I’m just so grateful to everybody in Kentucky that has dedicated their time and money in making sure that … we are able to place these in our communities,” she said.
There are more than a dozen Safe Haven Baby Boxes throughout the Louisville city and surrounding towns, according to the nonprofit’s nationwide map documenting each location.
The box is climate controlled and triggers a 911 call as soon as the door is opened and an infant is placed inside, The News Enterprise explained. Emergency responders arrive at the Baby Box, which is designed to ensure the infant’s immediate protection as well, shortly after the alarm is triggered, so the child is not left alone very long. In Kentucky, infants up to 30 days old may be surrendered, according to Leitchfield-based Grayson County EMS Director Kevin Pharis.
Grayson County News reported Nov. 12 that the effort to install a Baby Box in Leitchfield has been underway since 2021 and was spearheaded by Owensboro Health Twin Lakes Medical Center Community Engagement Coordinator Jessica Embry, along with several others.
“As I stand here today looking at the Safe Haven Baby Box, I see much more than a box," Embry said at the Nov. 11 installation ceremony, according to the outlet. “I see hope, I see compassion, and I see a community that believes every life matters. ... One of the things I love most about this community is that when someone has a need, people show up. We support each other through difficult times, we help carry burdens, we rallied around our neighbors — that's simply who we are.”
“This baby box allows us to extend that culture even further,” she added, “because while we all hope a family never faces a crisis severe enough to require it, the reality is that things do happen, and today because of this box ... we can say to someone experiencing their darkest moments, 'You're not alone.'"
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