Kingsbridge HIV survivor helps kids
30-year-old Bronx resident talks about how his youth impacted his life
BY JASON COHEN
Jonathan Berenguer had faced
monumental challenges early on in
his childhood. The lifelong Kingsbridge
resident was born with HIV and
he had lost his parents Orlando Lopez
and Elizabeth Berenguer by the time
he was 5 years old.
Although the doctors did not think
that he would make it into adulthood,
Berenguer, 30, survived a grim diagnosis
and is now a tutor and director
of a nonprofi t that counsels children.
Both of Berenguer’s parents were
diagnosed with HIV, an autoimmune
virus that affects fewer than 200,000
people in the United States per year.
The Bronx resident was infected with
congenital HIV and weighed just 2
pounds and 11 ounces at birth.
“The doctors pretty much told my
grandparents I was not going to make
it,” he recalled.
He spent the next four months in an
incubator, but as his mom recovered
in the hospital following his birth, she
was visited by an ex-boyfriend who
tragically murdered her.
Berenguer was a fi ghter and eventually
made it home to his grandparents
Carmen and Rudolph Berenguer.
He had a brief relationship with his
dad until he was also killed when he
was 5.
His grandparents legally adopted
him at 6 years old, but at the age of 10,
BRONX TIMES R 26 EPORTER, DECEMBER 4-10, 2020 BTR
Jonathan Berenguer Courtesy of Jonathan Berenguer
Berenguer faced another crushing loss
when his grandfather passed away.
“As a kid you don’t realize it,” he
said about the losses he experienced.
“You don’t feel hurt.”
Carmen took her grandson to the
hospital to receive regular treatment
and he was HIV-free by the time he
was 6 years old.
“I was a momma’s boy. I wasn’t embarrassed,”
he said.
According to Berenguer, having a
mom much older than the other kids
his age did not bother him. But things
changed in middle school as he began
to get in fi ghts. Berenguer recalled
how he even once punched a friend
hoping to impress a girl.
He soon realized that times like
these were where he missed having
a dad.
“There was a part of me that
wanted to make my dad proud,”
Berenguer said.
Not long after that, he started
to attend church and became
more focused.
In high school, Berenguer found
his passion for tutoring kids. He would
tutor youths in math and in his sophomore
year of college at Lehman, he
launched a business called By Your
Side Tutoring.
“Eventually I realized I want to
do something in education to help
students,” he said.
During college he also began
working as an after school counselor
with children and quickly fell in love
with it.
Berenguer would share his story
with kids, which usually got them to
open up to him. While he obtained
an Earth Science education degree in
2014, Berenguer got a job as a counselor
with Trio, a nationally funded
mentoring nonprofi t.
Then in 2018, he got his master’s in
organizational leadership and became
the director of Trio.
Whether it is a weekday after
school or on the weekends, Berenguer
said that he and his employees
do their best to make a difference in
kids’ lives.
“It makes me feel like I’m a superhero
almost,” he said.
Berenguer told the Bronx Times
that in the past fi ve years, he has really
refl ected on his life and recognized
how much of an impact his
grandmother had on him.
Carmen instilled in him the values
of humility and resilience but also had
a great sense of humor. Berenguer said
that she had two open heart surgeries
and survived COVID-19 and also recalled
the time she put a rubber spider
on his toothbrush as a prank.
Even with his busy schedule, he
tries to watch a novella with her every
night on TV.
In addition to his grandmother,
Berenguer said that his fi fth grade
teacher Tony Plata was a big infl uence
on him during his childhood. While in
school, he said that Plata taught him
the importance of confi dence and using
one’s voice to speak up.
“At the end of the day I’m no different
than anybody else and that’s the
message I want my students to take,”
he said.
In his spare time, Berenguer also
conducts motivational talks for the
Department of Education.
FAMILY COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF BRONX
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ -
In the Matter of
THE DABAS/SERRANO CHILREN
of a Proceeding under Docket No. NN-07146-47/20
Article 10 of the Family Court Act
SUMMONS
JACOBO DABAS “GUZMAN” (Child Neglect Proceeding)
Respondent
___________________________________
NOTICE: PLACEMENT OF YOUR CHILD IN FOSTER CARE MAY RESULT IN THE LOSS OF YOUR
RIGHTS TO YOUR CHILD. IF YOUR CHILD STAYS IN FOSTER CARE FOR 15 OF THE MOST RECENT
22 MONTHS, THE AGENCY MAY BE REQUIRED BY LAW TO FILE A PETITION TO TERMINATE YOUR
PARENTAL RIGHTS AND TO COMMIT GUARDIANSHIP AND CUSTODY OF YOUR CHILD TO THE
AGENCY FOR THE PURPOSES OF ADOPTION. IN SOME CASES, THE AGENCY MAY FILE BEFORE
THE END OF THE 15-MONTH PERIOD. IF SEVERE OR REPEATED CHILD ABUSE IS PROVEN BY
CLEAN AND CONVINCING EVIDENCE, THIS FINDING MAY CONSTITUTE THE BASIS TO TERMINATE
YOUR PARENTAL RIGHTS AND TO COMMIT GUARDIANSHIP AND CUSTODY OF YOUR CHILD TO
THE AGENCY FOR THE PURPOSES OF ADOPTION.
IN THE NAME OF THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK TO THE ABOVE-NAMED
RESPONDENT(S) WHO RESIDE(S) OR IS FOUND AT:
805 Taylor Avenue, #3G
Bronx, New York 10473
TO: JACOBO DABAS aka GUZMAN
A Petition under Article 10 of the Family Court Act having been filed with this Court, and annexed hereto,
YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to appear before the Honorable Michael Milsap in virtual Court at, 900
Sheridan Avenue, Bronx, New York, on JANUARY 14, 2021, VIRTUAL COURT at 2:00 o’clock in the
afternoon of that day to answer the petition and to be dealt with in accordance with Article 10 of the Family
Court Act
ON YOUR FAILURE TO APPEAR as herein directed, a warrant may be issued for your arrest.
FURTHER NOTICE: Family Court Act §154(c) provides that petitions brought pursuant to Articles 4,5,6,8
and 10 of the Family Court Act, in which an order of protection is sought or in which a violation of an order
of protection is alleged, may be served outside the State of New York upon a Respondent who is not a
resident or domiciliary of the State of New York. If no other grounds for obtaining personal jurisdiction over
the Respondent exist aside from the application of this provision, the exercise of personal jurisdiction over
the respondent is limited to the issue of the request for, or alleged violation of, the order of protection.
Where the Respondent has been served with this summons and petition and does not appear, the Family
Court may proceed to a hearing with respect to issuance or enforcement of the order of protection.
Steve Byrnes
Clerk of the Family Court
Dated: October 28, 2020