By Patricia A. Scheyer
NKyTribune reporter
The city of Edgewood realized a goal being fulfilled on Thursday when a baby box was dedicated to the Edgewood firehouse.
In July of 2022, then Councilman Dale Henson asked his fellow councilmembers to consider putting a baby box in the side of the firehouse.
Monica Kelsey, founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, shows how they work. (Photo by Patricia Scheyer/NKyTribune)
“There is an organization called Safe Haven, and they will either sell you the (baby) boxes, or this says they will lease the boxes for $200 a year to the local government,” Henson told Council at that time.
He told them that there is a similar box in Carmel, Indiana, and they had three babies surrendered in six weeks, and since 2004 there have been 72 babies put into similar surrender boxes.
So Thursday, right before Christmas, the city of Edgewood dedicated a finished baby box in the side of the firehouse.
Henson, who retired from council this year, made a point of being at the ceremony, held a little before noon.
“I am very proud of this,” said Henson, who said the idea originally came from his wife, Karen. “It is the last thing I did on Council. I pray that it is never needed, but if it is, I want it to be there.”
Bishop John Curtis Iffert, Bishop of the diocese of Covington, also made a point of attending, and officially blessed the box.
Former Edgewood councilman Dale Henson with Bishop John Iffert. (Photo by Patricia Scheyer/NKyTribune)
“This is the kind of thing we pray is never used, right?” he asked rhetorically. “We want every child in this community and in all of Northern Kentucky to be loved, welcomed, and desired. Yet, we live in a world that can be difficult and tough, and people can feel despair. And so we also pray that if someone finds themselves in that situation, that they will use this box to preserve that child.”
Bishop Iffert proceeded to bless the baby box, and extended his blessing to the parents, the baby, and the firefighter/EMTs who would use and attend the box.
Monica Kelsey, the founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, was present to explain how the
box works, and she was very appreciative for the blessing.
“I know that the next person who touches this box is going to be a mother that needs to have our prayers and our support,” she said. “Blessing these boxes is something that I have always done. I started with box number one at my firehouse, I’m a retired firefighter/medic, I started blessing these boxes with box number one, and here we are with the 190th in the nation blessing this box also. It’s awesome.”
Kelsey related some of her history, saying she was an abandoned baby, conceived of rape, to a 17 year old girl, who didn’t feel that she had any other choice but to abandon her baby. When Kelsey met her mom at the age of 37, everything she had done up to that point in her life came together in an inspiration to create Safe Haven Baby Boxes, with the goal that no baby is ever abandoned in an unsafe place, where they can very easily die.
“This is the 27th baby box in the state of Kentucky,” she explained. “Those 27 baby boxes that we’ve had have saved three infants this year. So we have had 3 lives in Kentucky that are going to go on, their birth parents have hopefully found peace, and the adoptive parents have received a call that they’ve been waiting for for many years that a child is now available for adoption.”
She went on to say it is a double edged sword, because they know that somewhere out there a mother is having the worst day of her life, but she chose this route for her baby.
“I stand on the front lines of this movement as one of these kids who wasn’t lovingly, and safely and legally and anonymously place in a Safe Haven Baby Box by a parent who wanted me,” she said. “But this is my legacy and now I am these children’s voice.”
Fire Chief Tom Dickman said that the box will now be open, and there are no cameras there, so it is private and anonymous. He and Kelsey tested the box, and someone got to the other side of the box within a minute and a half. The inside of the box is similar to a bassinet, and is climate controlled.
Edgewood officials dedicate baby box. (Photo by Patricia Scheyer/NKyTribune)
Mayor John Link talked about how Councilman Henson started the project 1 1/2 years ago, and the city has been working on it ever since, and he is glad the community has this.
Ft Mitchell also has a baby box, and within a few weeks Ludlow will have one also. In the state of Kentucky, babies who are surrendered should be under 30 days old.
“When I urged council to agree to this, I felt that it was something we could do proactively,” said Henson. “It did take awhile to figure out where to put it, and how to work with Safe Haven to get it done, but Edgewood did get it done. I am very proud that we have a baby box in Edgewood.”
Currently there are between 16 and 19 active baby boxes in the state of Kentucky.
Governor Andy Beshear updated the Safe Haven law in 2021, and since then several more cities have installed baby boxes in their firehouses, and more are in the works.
According to a report, the first surrender of a baby in Kentucky happened in 2017, and now at least 34 babies have been surrendered to baby boxes around the state.
Babies who are surrendered to the baby boxes have to be less than 30 days old, and there will be no questions asked. The program is totally anonymous.
