Today we’d like to introduce you to Helen Witty.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
On June 1, 2000, my 16-year-old daughter, Helen Marie, went out rollerblading on a bike path near our home. She stopped at the end of our driveway, turned around, told me she loved me, and that she’d be right back.
It was the last time I ever saw her.
Until that day, my husband, John and I, had our dream family – a daughter and a son with the perfect names. We were John and John and Helen and Helen Marie, Helen Marie because I didn’t want to be Big Helen or Old Helen. Helen Marie came first, and we often called her HM, because she was fast, and you had to be fast to keep up with her. She put me through my mom paces, but we had so much fun. She loved drama; she often acted in school productions. But that day – her last day – she was nervous, because she was going to direct a play the next day, and she’d never done that before. She wanted to go rollerblading to work off her stress.
Helen Marie was on her way home when an alcohol and a marijuana-impaired teen driver traveling 60 mph in a 30 mph zone lost control of her car and ran off the road and struck her on the bike path. She saw the car coming. All she could do was die.
I still can’t describe the days and months – and years – that followed. It started with making funeral arrangements from my 16-year-old daughter and answering a call about organ donation. I thought I would die from my grief. But Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) was there for me. It was this organization that showed me I could survive. It gave me a platform on which to lean, to learn, to stand, and then to fight.
Within a year of HM’s death, I was telling her story. I began volunteering with MADD, first as a victim advocate. Then I went to work for them as a program specialist, sharing our mission in schools. On Jan. 1, 2019, I became National President of the organization. I serve as a spokeswoman for the nearly 1 million victims MADD has served, and I travel the country meeting victims and survivors of this 100 percent preventable crime, listening to their stories, and advocating before state and federal lawmakers for tougher drunk driving legislation.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Grief is a long and winding road. It is different for everyone. In the earliest weeks and months, I didn’t think I would ever smile or laugh again. But the people of MADD who had also experienced the same unimaginable loss showed me that it was possible. And this gave me hope.
While grieving my daughter, I also found myself inside a criminal courtroom – an utterly foreign place – where the 17-year-old driver faced the consequences of her decisions. She was ultimately sentenced to six years in prison.
I fear above anything those early years of grief. The pain of her loss never goes away. But HM’s life was not in vain. And I am so grateful that I got to be HM’s mom.
Please tell us about Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).
MADD’s mission is to end drunk driving, help fight drugged driving, support victims of these violent crimes and prevent underage drinking. Since our founding in 1980, drunk driving deaths have been reduced by half. That’s 370,000 lives saved. We have also served nearly 1 million victims of this crime at no cost to them.
Our Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving also focuses on four major efforts:
• High visibility law enforcement, including sobriety checkpoints, which can reduce drunk driving deaths by 17 percent. Strong drunk driving enforcement is one of the strongest deterrents.
• Ignition interlocks for all drunk driving offenders. These in-car breathalyzers require offenders to provide a sober breath sample before operating their vehicles. MADD has successfully advocated for these laws in 33 states plus Washington, D.C. A nationwide ignition interlock law could save another 1,000 lives a year.
• Advanced vehicle technology. Breath or touch sensors can prevent a drunk driver from operating their vehicle. The idea for this technology was born in 2006 at a MADD technology symposium in New Mexico, and the concept became a reality more than a decade ago and is known as DADSS. Our goal is to get this technology into vehicles for consumers to purchase as quickly as possible. I recently issued a challenge to the auto industry and the government to made DADSS commercially available.
• Public support. With so many options today – ride-sharing apps, taxis, public transportation, and designated drivers – there is absolutely no excuse to ever drink and drive. Plan ahead. And follow this simple equation: If you drink, don’t drive. If you drive, don’t drink.
Also, MADD Broward County will host the 9th Annual Walk Like MADD & MADD Dash Fort Lauderdale 5k on Sunday, April 28, 2019, at Huizenga Plaza in Fort Lauderdale. Since the event was established in 2011, it has raised over $1.75 million that stays in our community to save lives and support victims of drunk driving, making it the most successful grassroots fundraiser in the history of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. If you would like to join us in the fight against drunk driving, please visit www.walklikemadd.org/fortlauderdale to register or donate.
Pricing:
- 5K Runner Adult & Youth: $35
- Walker Adult: $30
- Walker Youth (ages 5-18): $25
Contact Info:
- Address: Walk Like MADD & MADD Dash Fort Lauderdale 5k will take place at Huizenga Plaza in Fort Lauderdale.Huizenga Plaza
32 E. Las Olas Blvd.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 - Website: www.walklikemadd.org/fortlauderdale
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madddash5k/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MADDDashFortLaud/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/madddash?lang=en
Image Credit:
Downtown Photo
Getting in touch: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
