In 1972, a 17-year-old girl was raped and left by the side of a road. Her attacker was arrested and charged. Shortly after the ordeal of trying to bring the man to justice, she learned that she was pregnant.
In April of 1973, the young victim gave birth to a baby girl and abandoned her newborn two hours later.
Monica Kelsey was that abandoned newborn in 1973, and is now the founder and C.E.O. of Safe Haven Baby Box. She has made it her personal mission to educate others on the Safe Haven Law and to do whatever it takes to save the lives of innocent babies from being abandoned.
She told her story Wednesday to a group gathered at Jackson Fire Station #2 where a
new Safe Haven Baby Box has been activated.
“We offer resources for adoption and other options,” said Kelsey. “The box is meant as a last resort.”
The Safe Haven Baby Box takes the face to face interaction out of the surrender and protects the mother from being seen. 32 babies have been surrendered in boxes since 2017.
Jackson has the second Baby Box in the state of Tennessee, the other being in Knoxville. Currently, there are 165 boxes across the nation.
When a box is placed in any city, it is customary for a blessing of the box to be conducted. Pastor Adam Dooley of Englewood Baptist Church in Jackson did the honors.
“It is a core Christian belief that you run to people when they are hurting, not away from them,” said Dooley. “It is also a belief that all human lives are sacred.”
Bringing a Safe Haven Baby Box to Jackson has been a project in the works since the Spring of 2022 and has been spearheaded by Christy Tillman, EMS Communications Operations Manager, and Jana Compton, Training Director for the Madison County Fire Department.
Tillman and Compton took on raising the $11,000 for the Baby Box which includes construction of the box, modifying the location of the box, the necessary technology and the training of all involved.
Both credit the immediate willingness of the city and county mayors and fire departments with the jumpstart on raising funds for the project.
“Our family and friends have helped tremendously from the start,” said Tillman. “Chief Thom Corley made the first donation from the Jackson Police Department, along with help from churches and local organizations.”
During the blessing of the Baby Box, Pastor Dooley pledged a fundraising effort by Englewood Baptist Church, coordinating with Mayor Scott Conger’s office, to add another Baby Box in another part of the city.
Tillman and Compton are working with organizers in surrounding counties to start work on Baby Box projects in rural areas.
