Monica Kelsey: Saving Lives with ’Safe Haven Baby Boxes’ - A Mission to Prevent Infant Abandonment

A Lifeline for Babies in Crisis – Featuring Monica Kelsey

This episode is a rebroadcast of an earlier release. Be sure to listen to Melanie Luttrell’s powerful new update at the beginning.
In this powerful episode, Marcus and Melanie sit down with Monica Kelsey, founder and Executive Director of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing infant abandonment by providing mothers in crisis a safe, legal, and anonymous option to surrender their newborns.
Monica’s journey is deeply personal. Born after her teenage mother was raped and hidden away during pregnancy, Monica was abandoned at birth. Her life story has fueled her passion to advocate for infants like herself and to create compassionate solutions for birth mothers who face unthinkable challenges. Through Safe Haven Baby Boxes, Monica is on a mission to ensure that no child is abandoned unsafely, and no mother is left without options.
We also explore Monica's role as a firefighter and paramedic, where she has firsthand experience with the life-saving impact of Safe Haven laws. Her dedication to working with first responders has been crucial in creating awareness and ensuring these boxes are accessible nationwide.
Tune in as Monica shares her inspiring story, the incredible work her organization is doing, and how Safe Haven Baby Boxes are making a difference—one life at a time.

In This Episode You Will Hear:
• I grew up adopted, but I never knew the back story. (6:43 )
• I joined [the U.S. Navy] and got my love for firefighting there. (7:47)
• I never longed for love. (8:42)
• I just called [my biological mother] and she says “I’ve been waiting for your call.” (11:37)
• I always wanted that connection of “Hey, she does that, and I do that.” (12:38)
• The question comes up: “Who’s my biological father?” And she just got up and walked out. (12:41)
• If abortion was available in 1972, I probably wouldn’t be sitting here today. (14:37)
• I had to come to grips with the fact that I was whisked into this world by violence, and then thrown away like trash. (16:10)
• I had to go back to my faith because I had stumbled away from it.(16:17)
• The more I started reading scripture, the more it started pointing to my life. (16:31)
• Controversy is horrible around the baby boxes. (20:47)
• We launched the very first baby box in April; 30 days later our son was in a deadly accident. (23:54)
• [Melanie] The thought of putting a baby in a box is crazy; but the box of putting a baby in a dumpster is crazier. (28:57)
• At the end of the day, education is gonna be the key. (37:14)
• [Melanie] Q: What’s the worst state of baby abandonment? A: Texas.(37:45)
• The foster care system is a mess. (41:07)
• You pull a dead infant from a dumpster, you’re going to start looking for a solution.(46:27)

Support Monica:
-  IG:  https://www.instagram.com/safehavenbabyboxes/
       - https://www.shbb.org/ 
       -https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5PQX9JG5U3gSwcIAciYCPQ
       - https://www.tiktok.com/@safehavenbabyboxes?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

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