In December 2023, a woman turned to social media to thank her former foster mother, whom she hadn’t seen in 40 years, for taking care of her. It launched an online search party for that foster mother, which ended in the pair’s reunification.
Hannah Marie Smith was 12 years old when she entered the foster care system because her mother was unable to care for her properly. After initially being put into a children’s shelter, Smith, who went by the name “Marie” as a child, was taken in by foster mother Essie Gilchrist.
“I was 12 yrs old when my mother lost the ability to parent me safely,” Smith wrote on X. “I was taken from her & put into a huge, scary children’s shelter. It took a long time but they finally found someone who would take in a deeply troubled, rather wild child like me.” That someone was Gilchrist, who fostered children of all ages for nearly 30 years.
Though Gilchrist’s home was safe and happy, Smith said she stole from Gilchrist, and “ran up her phone bill calling my boyfriend.” Smith eventually ran away. She was placed back into the shelter and never saw Gilchrist again.
“I’m sure I broke her heart,” said Smith.
I was 12 yrs old when my mother lost the ability to parent me safely.
I was taken from her & put into a huge, scary children’s shelter. It took a long time but they finally found someone who would take in a deeply troubled, rather wild child like me.
Mama Essie was a black…
— NeuroscienceGirlLOVESJesus (She/Her) (@Jubilee4Jesus) December 13, 2023
But today, looking back, Smith said on social media, “The foundation of EVERYTHING I know about grace, abt dignity, abt fashion, makeup, hair care… elegance, excellence, self-care, patience, love, goodness, generosity & fierceness in the face of pain came from my Mama Essie.”
She wrote on X, “Mama Essie, if you’re still with us or peering through the windows of heaven… thank you. From the bottom of my heart. I heard you. I saw you. You made a difference, more than you’ll ever know.”
That post was viewed more than two million times and kicked off the search for Gilchrist. Smith said she had searched for her in the past, even sending her a letter in 2000, according to CBS News, but all with no luck. Gilchrist had gotten married and changed her last name, reported Today.com. Twenty-four hours after that tweet went viral, Smith was on a phone call with Today.com and by then, Gilchrist had been located.
“Did you see someone found her?” Smith told Today.com. “Mama Essie is still living in Stockton. She’s alive! Have you seen the picture? She is beautiful.”
She explained that though she gave Gilchrist a hard time and ran away, that home she had with Mama Essie was the most stable home she had ever had. “I felt like I was in a family,” she said. “I knew I was safe and secure and I knew nothing bad was going to happen to me. When I got sick in the middle of the night, Mama Essie brought me to the hospital and sat with me.”
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She added, “She showed me that there was kindness in the world. I wouldn’t be where I am today without her.”
Today, Smith is a married licensed therapist.
After Gilchrist was located, the two spoke for 45 minutes on the phone catching up and sharing memories. “I felt like I’ve been pacing, wandering… I feel my soul stirring again. I know my story helps people. I feel inspired, infused. I’m here for it. Good things are coming,” said Smith.
Gilchrist told Today.com, “Marie had the most gorgeous red hair. I never stopped thinking about her. She’s been searching for me?” She said she always saw good things in Smith. “One of the things that I saw was she was very bright. Very, very bright,” she said. “Sometimes, it’s hard, but we try everything we can to help children to know that there are people out there who care for them.”
While abortion advocates often argue that pro-life laws will force children into foster care, the truth is that foster care is a program aimed at reuniting parents and children. It’s meant to be temporary, and once the parents equip themselves to properly care for their child, they are able to regain custody. Babies placed for adoption at birth do not enter the foster care system if an adoptive family has been chosen by the birth mother.
And as Smith and Gilchrist prove, the foster care system can be a life-altering, life-saving resource for children. Being in foster care does not mean a child will live a life of pain and suffering, and it doesn’t mean the child is unwanted. The foster care system, though flawed, exists to reunite families and to protect children when their home with their biological family is unsafe.
