Miami Herald - May 10, 2009
Erika Capek, ecapek@MiamiHerald.com

Her son died at 31 from AIDS, yet with the support from a group of women who wanted to educate and save others from losing family members, Gaynor was inspired to start a program that would increase communication between parents and children about sexual health, and HIV/AIDS and STD prevention.

On Friday, Mothers' Voices held its 14th annual Extraordinary Voices Awards Luncheon at Jungle Island and honored four longtime supporters of not only Mothers' Voices but sexual health and awareness.

"This is such a worthy and needed cause," said Terrence Biddulph, one of the honorees and senior vice president of BNY Mellon and a financial supporter. "I felt a responsibility to get behind this organization as a financial banker and it's exciting to know that a group is so dedicated to families and children and their [sexual] education."

Biddulph, who works in Kendall, has been serving the community for more than 30 years and has given back in numerous ways, including hosting fundraising events for Mothers' Voices. He became involved with the organization since its inception 14 years ago and constantly encourages friends and customers, many of whom are lawyers and judges, to become involved.

'I look forward to the future of Mothers' Voices and my future with them," Biddulph said when he was honored.

Rabbi Judith Siegal, another honoree, is one of the spiritual leaders at Temple Judea in Coral Gables. She has made sure the synagogue's health and wellness mission included a sexual health component.

'When I moved to Miami three years ago, I became involved with Mothers' Voices and knew immediately that this was the organization for me," Siegal said. 'It's not only mothers' voices that need to educate our children, but all voices."

Siegal is a Planned Parenthood board member and mother of two young boys. She said many children aren't receiving a good education because of the abstinence-only programs in schools and stresses the importance of taking care of your body by having parents talk to their children about sex.

Mothers' Voices in South Florida is the local chapter of the national organization based in New York. Not only does it present programs to parents, educators, clergy and community leaders in the workplace, at home, in schools and for community organizations, it encourages conversation between parents and children to be open and honest.

"Parents need to talk earlier than they think, and often," said Lori Markowitz Gerson, executive director. "We focus on talking to parents about sexual education so they can talk to their own children."

In the past, Mothers' Voices has raised more than $50,000 to go to the "nuts and bolts" of the program through donations, raffles and auctions and has reached out to more than 25,000 families.

"It's such an honor to be here," said Damaries Cruz, an honoree. "I have been HIV positive for 18 years and got fed up with the stigma that people get and not being treated as a human being."

Cruz, who lives in Broward County, is the senior health educator for the Miami-Dade County Health Department HIV/AIDS Bureau. Together with her mother, Milagros Pagan, they have raised awareness and have been the voices in response to the Latino AIDS crisis.

"Being around people who support you is what gives me life," Cruz said. 'I was invited to speak here seven years ago for Mothers' Voices."

Cruz didn't know if she should because everyone would know about her being HIV positive. She had a talk with her mother, Pagan, who told her daughter to speak out.

"Behind my voice, there is a strong, courageous voice and that is my mother's," Cruz said when she was honored.

Cruz was also featured in a three-part series in The Miami Herald, "The Stigma Stops with Me," and constantly works to make a difference in the lives of those living with HIV/AIDS.

The fourth honoree, Ana Veciana-Suarez, was introduced by Gaynor. The founder told the audience it was Veciana-Suarez's column 14 years ago about a shunned family member with AIDS that resonated within her.

"I knew I just had to meet Ana," Gaynor said. "I invited her to speak at our very first luncheon 14 years ago because she was the first person, outside the AIDS community, that wrote about this condition publicly."

Veciana-Suarez is a syndicated columnist for The Miami Herald and author of Birthday Parties in Heaven: Thoughts on Life, Love, Grief, and Other Matter of the Heart, a collection of essays. In her recent column, Get Over It: Talk to Kids About Sex, she urged parents to "chuck the embarrassment and start talking frankly and often."

"Any parent with kids needs to be realistic about the situation," Veciana-Suarez said. "The reality is to prepare our children for things that aren't in our plan and not just pregnancy but health problems as well."

She called talking to children about sex a "hot-button" issue and pressed the need to talk frequently with them.

"According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, there are 19 million new STI's in the United States and half of them are 15-24 year olds," Veciana-Suarez said. 'Sex is everywhere and we need a comprehensive sexual health program like Mothers' Voices, to educate our children using factual and accurate information."
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