MITCHELL, INDIANA (JUNE 8, 2022) - The community is invited to attend the blessing of
the Mitchell, Indiana Safe Haven Baby Box at 11 AM EST on June 9th.
The event will occur at Mitchell Volunteer Fire Department located at 105 Doc Hamilton Blvd, Mitchell, IN 47446.
The Baby Box is the 84th in the state of Indiana which has seen four surrenders via Baby
Box so far this year.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes was founded by Monica Kelsey, who was abandoned as an infant.
Prior to founding Safe Haven Baby Boxes, she served her country spending eight years in
the military and then served her community as a firefighter/medic.
Now her life’s mission is to end infant abandonment with the aid of awareness and education on Safe Haven Laws.
Providing anonymous safe surrender locations through Safe Haven Baby Boxes is also key
to the mission.
Hooper Contracting help install Baby Box at the Mitchell Fire Station
Monica Kelsey authored “Blessed to Have Been Abandoned,” detailing her life and
journey to starting Safe Haven Baby Boxes, which quickly became an Amazon bestseller.
Kelsey stated, “This is a really cool experience to see a high school class become
invested in our cause to end infant abandonment and do the legwork to place a Baby Box
in their community. We are thrilled by their passion and excited to add Mitchell to the list of
communities protecting vulnerable members of their community through the Safe Haven
Baby Box.”
Former Mitchell High School Child Development Teacher Amy Redman explained, “What
began as a classroom project to educate our community about postpartum depression
turned into an extraordinary opportunity to learn about the mission of Safe Haven Baby
Boxes, gain communication and marketing skills, and experience the giving heart of
Mitchell. This is truly an unforgettable moment in our lives.”
Amy Redman
Students from Amy Redman’s former class will be speaking at the event as they pushed for
this resource to be available to the community and did the work to ensure it came to
fruition. Special thanks go to Mitchell Mayor, JD England, who moved the project along by
providing connections to the proper contacts along with Hoosier Uplands who helped with
fundraising. Safe Haven adoptive family, Tessa and Keegan Higgs will also be present at
the blessing along with their daughter Nola, who was surrendered in February of 2019 in
Indiana.
David Hooper owner of David Hooper Construction and Henry Shelter owner of Five Star Construction and Rick Butterfield handled the electrical work on this project
The Baby Box is a sophisticated device featuring climate control and a silent alarm system
that notifies first responders of a surrendered infant. The infant will be attended to within
five minutes, medically evaluated, and adopted within 30 to 45 days.
Nineteen infants have been placed in a Baby Box since 2017. Nationwide, 119
surrenders have resulted from calling the National Safe Haven Baby Box hotline. So far
this year there have been 5 surrenders via Safe Haven Baby Box. Safe Haven Baby
Boxes are currently available in Indiana, Ohio, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky and New
Mexico.
For any questions Monica Kelsey will be on sight at this blessing. For more information
please contact Monica at monicakelsey@safehavenbabyboxes.com
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