BKP Ambulance District Fundraising to Bring First Safe Haven Baby Box to Hardin County

The BKP Ambulance District in Kenton is working to bring Hardin County its first Safe Haven Baby Box, a secure and anonymous option that allows parents in crisis to safely surrender their newborns.

Assistant Chief Shelly Prater, who has served as an EMT in Hardin County for twenty-five years, said that the idea began after she saw the installation of a Safe Haven baby box at St. Rita’s in Lima and later, after hearing a heartbreaking report of an infant found deceased in Ohio.

Prater stated, “As a first responder, I think that that’s what kind of started it, that I’m like, oh, that that would be horrible if we had to go out on something like that and heard about the safe haven law. And we do have a safe haven law in Ohio. Any parent within thirty days of a baby’s birth can turn over a baby to any safe place a hospital, fire department, EMS department, police department.”

The initiative is inspired by the work of Monica Kelsey, who was abandoned as a newborn and later founded Safe Haven Baby Boxes after discovering a baby-box concept during a trip to Cape Town, South Africa. The first Safe Haven Baby Box was installed in her home state of Indiana in 2016. According to SHBB, as of January 2025, there are over 300 boxes that have been installed across 20 states.

Prater said, “The reason why we have safe haven laws is because there will be people you know, there will be people who run into those issues that that they can’t take care of a baby. And this, to me, seems to be safe solution for people. And anonymity is a huge deal for people that don’t want to hand over a baby. We have safe haven laws, and people are still not aware that they can turn their baby over safely to departments. And if they do know, they don’t want to see someone face to face, this is a nice, safe solution that keeps you anonymous.”

Prater wants to make sure that parents in crisis know that safe, compassionate, and anonymous options are available to protect their child.

The BKP Ambulance District began fundraising efforts earlier this year but have faced some challenges and setbacks so far.

“Unfortunately, it hasn’t had the drive that we thought that it would have. We’ve only raised seven hundred and ninety-eight dollars currently. We did receive a couple more donations this week that have yet to be turned in. That will take us over the one thousand dollars mark, around fifteen hundred dollars at the end of the week,” she stated.

The cost to bring a baby box to Hardin County includes around seventeen thousand dollars for the box itself to be built, and a few thousand for installation. Each unit includes heating, internal cameras and alarm systems that would alert both the building staff and the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office the moment that a baby is placed inside.

@safehavenbabyboxes #safehavenbabyboxes #mayorjoe #Camera ♬ original sound – Monica Kelsey

When a newborn is placed inside, the exterior door locks automatically, and trained staff can access the baby through a secure interior door to provide immediate care. Safe haven baby boxes offer a compassionate option—protecting infants and giving mothers a safe, judgment-free choice.

Annual maintenance costs typically range between five hundred and one thousand five hundred dollars. Once installed, the box will be checked daily to ensure that it’s operating correctly. It must be staffed twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, with personnel being trained by safe haven representatives on how to respond.

There is a five-minute limitation, and on average, the baby will be attended to within two to three minutes.

Prater stated, “So the alarm would go off. The sheriff’s office would be alerted. The alarm would go off in the box in the building that it’s placed in.”

Prater also said that if community members, churches or businesses can spread the word or donate, that would mean everything. All donations are tax deductible.

Prater hopes that the project raises awareness about the safe haven option and the tragic reality that it aims to prevent.

“The more you research it, if you follow Safe Haven on Facebook, or if you just Google how many babies are, you know, abandoned. It’s one hundred babies a year nationwide and twenty-two of those babies are found deceased, thirty-one of them are found in danger, you know, in dumpsters and backpacks or laid in the yard. I mean, it’s just a lot of that is scary numbers to me,” she said.

Along with the baby box, the organization also operates a 24-hour crisis hotline that provides support, answers questions, and guides parents through the safe and legal surrender process—ensuring care and protection for both parent and child. If you are a parent in crisis, please call or text 1-866-99BABY1.

According to SHBB, the hotline has received over 9,000 calls and has helped parents in every state in the United States, including referring over 500 women to crisis pregnancy centers, assisting in 10 adoption referrals, and facilitating over 150 legal Safe Haven surrenders.

Once BKP Ambulance District meets their fundraising goal, they will be able to announce the specific location of where the box will be placed.

Those wishing to contribute can visit the Safe Haven Baby Boxes website and select the BKP Ambulance District location, or scan the QR code on the district’s fundraising flyer.

Progress updates and future fundraising efforts will be shared on the BKP Ambulance District’s Facebook and on their website.