Imagine being a frightened young mother who has just given birth. You feel alone, overwhelmed, and convinced that you cannot care for your newborn. You may be afraid to walk into a hospital or fire station and explain yourself.

What if there were a safe place where you could surrender your baby—legally and securely—so that child could be protected?

That is the mission behind Safe Haven Baby Boxes, and the woman behind that mission has a remarkable personal connection to it.

Monica Kelsey was abandoned as an infant.

According to Safe Haven Baby Boxes, Monica learned as an adult that her biological mother became pregnant at 17 after being raped. Her mother ultimately gave birth and surrendered Monica at an Ohio hospital.

Rather than allowing that painful beginning to define the rest of her story, Monica eventually turned it into a mission: help make sure vulnerable newborns have a safe place to go.

After encountering the concept of a baby box during a trip to South Africa, Monica brought the idea home. She founded Safe Haven Baby Boxes, and the first box in Indiana was installed in 2016.

How does a Baby Box work?

A Safe Haven Baby Box is installed in the exterior wall of an approved location, often a fire station or hospital. Where state law permits, a parent can safely and anonymously surrender an infant without a face-to-face interaction.

When a baby is placed inside, the exterior door locks and an alarm alerts personnel. The infant is quickly retrieved from the secure, climate-controlled compartment and receives appropriate medical attention.

The boxes work alongside each state’s Safe Haven law, so the rules about a baby’s age, surrender locations, anonymity, and other requirements vary from state to state.

But Monica’s work isn’t limited to installing boxes. Safe Haven Baby Boxes also educates communities about Safe Haven laws, trains first responders, and operates a 24-hour crisis hotline: 1-866-99BABY1.

The organization reports that its hotline has helped thousands of people and that its work has contributed to numerous legal Safe Haven surrenders.

What strikes me most about Monica’s story is how one person’s difficult beginning became the motivation to protect other babies decades later.

A mother in crisis needs compassion and help—not condemnation.

And a newborn baby deserves the opportunity to be safe, loved, and given a future.

Safe Haven Baby Boxes provides another option at one of the most desperate moments a parent may ever face.

Every baby deserves a safe beginning. Every mother in crisis deserves to know that help is available. And sometimes, one safe choice can change the course of two lives.

Where are Baby Boxes Located

What started with one Safe Haven Baby Box in Woodburn, Indiana, has grown into a nationwide network of more than 400 Baby Boxes across 24 states—giving mothers in crisis another safe option and newborn babies a chance at life and a loving future.

Safe Haven Baby Boxes has grown dramatically since Monica Kelsey helped launch the first box in Woodburn, Indiana, in 2016. As of 2026, current sources report more than 400 boxes across 24 states; an April 2026 report put the total at approximately 430 installations.

The boxes are generally installed in fire stations, hospitals, emergency departments, and other approved emergency-service facilities where trained personnel can respond immediately. SHBB explains that boxes are installed only where state law and local procedures permit them.

The important caveat is that SHBB’s public website uses an interactive location locator, and the underlying complete city-by-city list isn’t exposed in the searchable text I can reliably extract. Because new boxes continue to open, I don’t want to give you an incomplete list and call it “all locations.”

What I can verify is that the network currently spans 24 states. Indiana is by far one of the largest programs—one current source reports more than 150 Indiana locations—while Tennessee had 28 boxes by April 2026 and New Mexico reached its 16th location in April.

Recent examples show just how widely the program is expanding: Lovington, New Mexico; Lawton, Oklahoma; and Tyler, Texas all dedicated new boxes in April/May 2026. Tennessee locations include facilities in Columbia, Tullahoma, Springfield, Hendersonville, Murfreesboro, Lawrenceburg and Nolensville, among many others.

For the most accurate current address of every box, SHBB itself should be the source of record:

Safe Haven Baby Boxes — Find a Box

Their crisis line is 1-866-99BABY1, and SHBB specifically recommends contacting it for guidance about the nearest legal surrender option because Safe Haven laws differ by state.

Blessed to Have Been Abandoned: The Story of the Baby Box Lady

Published in 2021, the book tells Monica’s story from being surrendered shortly after birth to becoming the founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes.

Monica writes about discovering the circumstances surrounding her birth, including learning that her biological mother became pregnant after being raped at age 17. She describes struggling with feelings surrounding abandonment and identity, while also being grateful for the adoptive family who raised her.

A central theme is how Monica transformed those experiences into a mission. After learning about the concept of a baby safe, she eventually helped establish Safe Haven Baby Boxes so parents in crisis could have a secure option for legally surrendering newborns where state law permits. Her Christian faith and her belief in finding purpose through painful experiences are also prominent themes in the book.

https://www.shbb.org/shop/p/blessed-to-have-been-abandoned-the-story-of-the-baby-box-lady

https://www.shbb.org/

Note: I used ChatGPT for the graphics and pulling this blog together for this topic, but I also check the information carefully to ensure the health information is correct. In order to get the right answers & the development of these health blogs when using ChatGPT effectively, you must know how to pose the correct questions.  

This content was generated with assistance from ChatGPT, an AI language model by OpenAI