Baby Box Blessings Doubleheader Set for Saturday in Versailles, Milan

Friday, June 16, 2023 at 12:10 PM

The public is invited to attend each ceremony.

(Ripley County, Ind.) – Two Safe Haven Baby Boxes will be blessed on Saturday in Ripley County.

The first blessing will occur at 1:00 p.m. at Versailles EMS at 727 West Hopewell Road. The doubleheader will be completed with another blessing starting at 3:00 at Milan EMS located at 212 Maple Street.

Each blessing will feature the following guest speakers:

Mary Beth Boone, The Madison Mission
Congresswoman Erin Houchin
State Representative Randy Frye
Senator Jean Leising
Amy Arbuckle, The Madison Mission

A Baby Box allows for the legal, safe, and anonymous surrender of an infant provided under the Safe Haven Law. It features three silent alarms alerting first responders to the presence of a surrendered infant. The baby will be attended to within five minutes and taken to the hospital for medical evaluation. Adoption occurs within 30 to 45 days by families who are signed up for foster care with the intention to adopt.

“The more communities embrace the Safe Haven Law and ensure the most vulnerable in their communities are protected, the better. We are grateful that EMS stations can also be a Safe Haven surrender location in Indiana and that these are now the home of Baby Boxes as well," said founder Monica Kelsey.

Since 2017, 31 infants have been placed in a baby box. Nationwide, 131 surrenders have resulted from calling the National Safe Haven Baby Box hotline.

This year alone, there have been 10 surrenders via baby box.

The Versailles and Milan baby boxes are the 150th and 151st boxes to be blessed throughout the country.

For more information, visit https://shbb.org/.