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Safe Haven Baby Box to be unveiled Tuesday at EMS building

Thursday, April 29, 2021
A new Safe Haven Baby Box will be unveiled at Putnam County EMS headquarters next Tuesday. The Safe Haven Baby Box allows a mother to anonymously surrender a newborn infant.
Courtesy photo

A new Safe Haven Baby Box will be unveiled at Putnam County EMS headquarters, 513 Bloomington St., Greencastle, on Tuesday, May 4 at 10 a.m.

The 56th one to be installed in Indiana, the Baby Box will be situated on the south side of the station’s main entrance.

The Safe Haven Baby Box allows a mother to surrender a newborn infant up to 30 days old with 100-percent anonymity. It has security features such as heating and cooling components, an alarm system and a soft white light.

Safe Haven Baby Boxes Inc. is a nonprofit founded in 2015 by firefighter and medic Monica Kelsey. She was abandoned as an infant and is committed to installing more Safe Haven Baby Boxes.

“We are happy to have walked alongside 98 mothers who have safely surrendered their child to a firefighter or hospital personnel after seeking help through the National Safe Haven hotline,” Kelsey said. “The organization’s mission is to provide resources that allow a parent to make the best decision for the safety of the child.”

Linda Znachko, who started He Knows Your Name in October 2009, is an avid supporter of the Safe Haven Baby Box organization. Her nonprofit gives abandoned babies a proper funeral and offers resources to families suffering from infant and child loss.

The footprint featured on the Safe Haven Baby Box honors the legacy of Baby Amelia, who was adopted by Znachko. In December 2014, Baby Amelia was found abandoned at Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis wrapped inside a Vincennes University sweatshirt.

“Amelia’s legacy is to raise awareness about and defend the Safe Haven Law,” Znachko said. “She is saving lives with her footprint. No dead babies have been found since her finding six years ago.”

Several businesses and community members came together to help fund the local project.

“We have all heard the stories about a first responder that walked away from the industry because of a run like this, and as a chief of EMS, I wanted to try to do anything I could to prevent that,” said Putnam County EMS Chief Kelly Russ. “Having this resource available to mothers in the area, even if it is only used one time, could be life- and career-changing.”

Russ also gave a special “Thank you” to Kevin Petty of Petty Home Projects, Bill Mentgen of Energy Conservation Solutions and Gary of S5 Security Solutions for donating time and materials to the project.

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  • Wouldn't it have been nice if an address for this Safe Haven box had been included in this article

    -- Posted by sierrasusanne on Sun, May 2, 2021, at 11:06 AM

  • I assume the location is at the EMS dispatch center next to the county Highway department and DePauw Nature Park. Some clarity would have been helpful though.

    -- Posted by techphcy on Sun, May 2, 2021, at 6:31 PM

  • I believe it is at the EMS building just south of Robe-Ann Park.

    -- Posted by H_lake34 on Sun, May 2, 2021, at 8:32 PM

  • "A new Safe Haven Baby Box will be unveiled at Putnam County EMS headquarters in Greencastle on Tuesday, May 4 at 10 a.m."--sierrasusanne--This is the 1st sentence in the above article.

    -- Posted by donantonio on Sun, May 2, 2021, at 9:18 PM

  • EMS headquarters is not an address, it is a building. a street address has numbers in it and a street name . This box is suppose to be available to all in the County who may need to use it , I was born and raised in Greencastle and I do not know where this building is.

    -- Posted by sierrasusanne on Mon, May 3, 2021, at 8:04 AM

  • I find this concept amazing and tells us much about ourselves

    -- Posted by beg on Mon, May 3, 2021, at 8:52 AM

  • Sierrasusanne, your inquiry is solidified by 2 comments who describe the location of the facility in 2 totally different places. One believes the building is just south of Robe Ann Park, while another states it’s by the highway department.

    -- Posted by kbmom on Mon, May 3, 2021, at 10:25 AM

  • So is there a legal Street address for this safe haven box , or is some desperate young woman going to harm her baby because she can't figure out if its by the park or by the highway department.

    -- Posted by sierrasusanne on Mon, May 3, 2021, at 6:29 PM

  • The box is going to be unveiled Tuesday, May 4. Prior to this time, the box is not yet operational, so giving the address would not be appropriate. At the time of the unveiling, I'm sure its location will be publicized more fully.

    The EMS Center (formerly Operation Life) on S. Bloomington St. or 231 and the 9-1-1 Emergency Dispatch Center (out by the Highway Dept. (on Dump Rd.) are two different entities.

    -- Posted by roach on Tue, May 4, 2021, at 3:09 PM

  • Don Antonio: Did you ever consider that the address might have inserted into the article after the question was asked?

    -- Posted by Ben Dover on Tue, May 4, 2021, at 3:36 PM
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