Safe Havens For Babies, Support For Mothers, And Spreading Kindness In Communities
That’s a question that is both incredibly profound yet entirely simple.
Purpose - that seems like a deep, even intimidating, concept. Yet, when you really think about it, our purpose in life is very simple:
- Be kind, always.
- Lend a helping hand any time you’re able.
- Join others, be it friends, family, or neighbors, to do good in your community.
- Support people.
When we seek to do these things, we can profoundly impact the world in powerful ways.
Sure, we all have goals, careers, and expectations with greater grandeur at times, but let us never forget the power of simply coming together to do good, showing kindness and offering support to those in need.
Of course, there are an untold number of ways you can positively impact the world as such, but today we’d like to share with you how we were recently privileged to show kindness, offer support, and share coffee with some local heroes.
And, we’d like to challenge you as well…
As you read about the following events taking place in our local community, showcasing the powerful impacts of coming together, showing kindness, and offering support to those in need, may you seek to find ways to join others in bettering your own neighborhood, your own town, and our great, big, wonderful world.
Safe Havens For Babies, Support For Mothers
Nine years ago, on a freezing cold night in late December, a baby was abandoned at Eagle Creek Park, in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The infant, named Amelia, did not survive, and as concerned citizens met to mourn this young, precious life, hope for such seemingly helpless situations was found.
Linda Znachko, founder of He Knows Your Name Ministries, explains that while looking out over this precious infant’s coffin, she met another concerned citizen, Monica Kelsey.
There, Kelsey lamented the hopelessness of it all - “This is the problem, abandonment is criminal. And, it’s illegal to dispose of a baby, especially on a freezing cold night. They will never survive. But, I have the solution…”
From this tragic event, hope was born for mothers in similar situations, and this hope is offered through Kelsey’s Safe Haven Baby Box solution.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes are safe incubators placed in EMS stations where mothers can legally, anonymously, surrender their infant (aged 30 days and younger).
The boxes are equipped with heating and cooling features to keep any surrendered infant warm or cool, depending on outdoor temperatures. And, each box has an alarm system which notifies 911 as soon as a baby is placed inside.
Once first responders arrive, they promptly take the infant to the nearest medical facility to be examined. Then, according to Indiana’s Safe Haven Law, the child is placed in the custody of Child Services so the process of finding an adoptive family may begin within the next 4-6 weeks.
Their mission is to prevent illegal abandonment, offering the boxes as a last resort option for women who want to maintain complete anonymity.
“The Safe Haven Baby Box takes the face-to-face interaction out of the surrender and protects the mother from being seen.”
In September of 2023, a Safe Haven Baby Box was placed at an EMS Station roughly 30 miles from Lifeboost Headquarters, at Beech Grove EMS Ambulance Station 56.
And, a few months later, in December, the first baby was safely surrendered at this location.
Since the first safe haven box was opened in 2015, eight states have joined this effort to offer live saving help to infants and support for mothers.
The darling infant placed in the Beech Grove EMS baby box this December is the 7th baby surrendered in the Hoosier state this year.
And, in 2023 alone, 17 infants were surrendered across all Safe Haven Baby Boxes.
So, this December, the community of Beech Grove celebrated the life of this surrendered infant, the lives of the EMS workers who work tirelessly to keep the community, including these infants, safe, as well as the bravery of this mother.
In the press conference where this safe and successful surrender was discussed, spreading awareness of Safe Haven’s mission, Znachko rejoiced in the commentary of so many attending, who grandly shared the same sentiment regarding the infant’s mother: “what a wonderful woman she must be, to have bravely chosen life for her child.”
“This is exactly what Safe Haven Baby Boxes are meant to do, offer a life-saving measure for infants, as well as support for mothers in crisis. The baby, placed safely in the box at the Beech Grove EMS Station, was given by its mother, a mother who gave her heart to the heart of the EMS workers here.”
Aside from the actual safe boxes, Safe Haven also staffs a 24-hour hotline (1-866-99BABY1) where parents can talk with trained professionals ready to provide information about options for surrendering as well as ways to receive assistance or help to care for their child(ren).
Spreading Kindness In Communities
Here at Lifeboost, we are regularly inspired by our local heroes, such as Beech Grove’s EMS staff, and this often prompts us to take part in efforts to support our community.
Of course, being a coffee company, we enjoy doing this by sharing our healthy, single origin, low acid, specialty coffee with local service personnel.
Like those attending and tuning in to the press conference announcing the first safe infant surrender at the Beech Grove EMS Ambulance Station, our team here at Lifeboost rejoiced in this wonderful news.
And, when our Customer Service Manager, Taylor, learned of the work the EMS staff in our community were doing in regards to helping these infants and supporting their brave mothers, she inspired us to get involved by spreading a little bit of kindness through the gift of coffee.
In December, we were privileged to donate 100 bags of coffee to Beech Grove Ambulance Station 56.
As Taylor was able to personally deliver this donation, she was beyond touched with this mission and work:
“It was neat to be inside, see the box, and learn how it works. The chief was there, and I had to hug him. We talked about that conference on the news, and he’s the one that got the notification and ran to that box. It just melts my heart to be local and know that box is working for moms and babies.”
It is our hope that our clean, healthy coffee will be enjoyed by the EMS workers at the Beech Grove station, fueling them with joy, energy, and health as they serve our community, including those infants surrendered at the location’s Safe Haven Baby Box.
What about you?
I hope as you read of these events happening in Beech Grove, IN as well as the other states with such live saving tools, you’ve been inspired to joins hands with those in your own local community to find ways you can make the world a better place by supporting those in need, sharing love and kindness to all.
Check out Lifeboost Coffee Grata Medium Roast.
Becky is a mother, educator, and content writer for Lifeboost Coffee. She has had three years’ experience as a writer, and in that time she has enjoyed creatively composing articles and ebooks covering the topics of coffee, health and fitness, education, recipes, and relationships.