The Richmond Fire Department, located at 200 N. Madison Ave., made saving lives a little easier as they officially became became Kentucky’s 39th Safe Haven Baby Box location. On Tuesday, the Richmond Safe Haven Baby Box was blessed in front of a large audience, statewide media, and a host of dignitaries.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes was founded by Monica Kelsey on a mission to end infant abandonment. In addition to baby boxes, the organization provides a confidential National Hotline, 1-866-99BABY1. Eighteen states already have a Baby Box presence, with a total of 257 of them nationally.
Since 2017, 50 infants have been safely and legally surrendered in a Baby Box, according to Kelsey who was the feature speaker at Tuesday’s ceremony in Richmond. The National Safe Haven Crisis line has assisted with over 150 handoff surrenders.
On Tuesday, Kelsey gave a heartfelt testimony as to why she was led to start up this life-saving mission.
“In August of 1972 a young 17-year-old girl was brutally attacked, raped, and left along the side of the road,” Kelsey stated. “This was in 1972 when abortion was illegal in our country and this 17-year-old girl pressed charges against the man who had raped her. He was arrested and he was charged.”
“If that wasn’t the worst of it, when her life was finally getting back to normal, she found out she was pregnant,” Kelsey said. “She was hidden for the remainder of the pregnancy. She gave birth in April of 1973 and abandoned her child two hours after that child was born. and that child was me.”
“This is my legacy and I am their voice,” she said.
Kelsey explained that each year the numbers increase with more Baby Boxes becoming available across the country. Surrendered infants are adopted by families who have registered as foster to adopt and the local departments of family services coordinates the adoption process.
Richmond Mayor Robert Blythe also pastors the First Baptist Church of Richmond, which is just a stone’s throw away from the site of the newly placed Baby Box. Blythe relied on his spiritual heritage to explain his gratitude towards Kelsey and all others involved in making Richmond’s Safe Haven Baby Box a reality.
“You reminded me of a passage in the scriptures in which the Apostle Paul told the Christians at Rome, ‘We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to the call and according to his purpose’,” Blythe said. “I thought of that because I always remind my congregation that all things are not good, but out of many of those things can come some good. and what we’re witnessing here today is certainly one of those cases that shows us that out of something that occurred in your mother’s life, for example, is coming some tremendous good that is blessing so many people.”
Richmond Fire Chief Brooks Elder stated that Eastern Kentucky University Health Services Asst. Professor Jessica Hess reached out to them two years ago about starting the project. Where the Baby Box is located used to be a glass entrance and a door to the downtown fire department. Elder said that all the staff at the Richmond Fire Department embraced the project and were all excited to see the project through to its completion.
Elder admitted that he didn’t know about the Safe Haven Baby Box until the Executive Director of the Pregnancy Health Center Sarah Roof brought up the possibility of placing one in the exterior wall of the local downtown fire department. Elder also credited Roof and her department with the financial backing for the Baby Box project.
Roof gave thanks to Richmond city commissioners Tammy Cole and Mendi Goble, city manager Rob Minerich, all the city commissioners, and Mayor Robert Blythe for their efforts and cooperation in making the Richmond Baby Box project a reality.
However, the entire financial burden of the Baby Box was donated by an anonymous local resident.
“This [project] would not have been completed as fast without the support of an anonymous donor who stepped forward and sacrificially gave to fully fund this box,” Roof said. “They wanted no recognition, but wanted to use their great gifts from God to create a life-affirming legacy in our city.”
President of Baptist Health Richmond Hospital Greg Gerard gave praise to all that made the Richmond Baby Box possible and said that Baptist Health Richmond will always be there to take care of those babies that may be dropped off in the Baby Box.
“As a 24/7 operation at hospital, we often hear that it’s a beautiful day when a baby is born,” Gerard said. “And now we know that there’s an alternative to some moms who just can’t take care of that baby, for some reason, and they don’t have an alternative. But now they do. They could have this alternative here, which is awesome.”
According to the Safe Haven Baby Boxes founder, Kentucky became the first state in the nation to pass a ‘Baby Box’ bill with no ‘no’ votes on either side of the aisle.
“I will forever walk alongside these parents as they choose something safe for their child, which my birth mother did not have,” Kelsey said in closing. “I will forever walk with these kids to show them their worth because they are worthy of this life just like you and I are. and for us to fight for them, it’s just the right thing to do.”
Contact Steve Cornelius at scornelius@richmondregister.com.
