© 2025 WUKY
background_fid.jpg
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

The first Safe Haven Baby Box has been installed in Lexington

Safe Haven



The Lexington chapter of the Knights of Columbus raised funds to install the Safe Haven Baby Box at Lexington Fire Department Station Number 2.

Jessi Getrost with Safe Haven, says the baby boxes give parents who are in crisis and unable to care for their newborns, a safe and legal option.

"We want to let parents know that they now have the anonymous option, should they choose it, to safely, legally surrender their infant. We hope that one day we can stop infant abandonment across this country."

The Safe Haven Baby Boxes program was founded in 2015 by Monica Kelsey, a former firefighter and medic who discovered she was abandoned at birth.

The boxes are installed on the exterior walls of hospitals and fire stations, and there are doors that automatically lock and alert staff once a baby is placed inside. Anyone who utilizes the program cannot be prosecuted for child abandonment and they leave knowing their infant is secure.

Kentucky passed the first Safe Infant Act in 2002, providing guidelines for abandoned infants in the Commonwealth, there are now 49 across the state and 303 in the country.

If you need immediate help or to locate a drop off site click here: Safe Haven Baby Box

Karyn Czar joined the WUKY News team July 1, 2013, but she's no stranger to radio.