DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. – More than two decades after a 2-day-old baby girl was dropped off at a fire station in Deerfield Beach, the first responders who took her in are meeting her once again.
Broward firefighters Chris Florea, Jim Burge and Jennifer Ameerally recall seeing a young mother leaving the baby by the door.
“She said, ‘Take my baby,’ and she cried and walked away,” Burge recalled.
For about half the day, they took care of the tiny infant as their own. They named her Hope.
“We just loved her, for that short time we had her,” Florea said.
Under Florida’s Safe Haven law, which was new at the time, a birth mother can anonymously leave a newborn at a hospital or fire station without fear of prosecution. The incident in Deerfield Beach was the first of its kind in Broward County.
A Safe Haven for Newborns, a Florida non-profit, helped connect the baby with adoptive parents Lori and Michael Lewis, who kept Hope as her middle name and chose Gloria as her first name.
“Her heart connected with my heart, and I was forever her mom,” Lori said.
Gloria Hope is now in college.
On stage at the annual gala for the non-profit in Miami, the trio of firefighters connected with her once again.
“My birth mother loved me enough to give me up,” Gloria said. “The firemen loved me enough to care for me and take care of me while I was in their custody.”
The first responders presented her with a fire helmet and other mementos. The group exchanged hugs and stories.
“There are certain calls that stick with you no matter what, for the rest of your life,” Ameerally said.
Nick Silverio, the founder of the nonprofit, said more than 400 babies have been saved. He said the program offers many resources for families.
Safe Haven for Newborns also has a 24/7 hotline: 877-767-2229
More information can be found here: https://asafehavenfornewborns.com