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Haniyyah Scott has shed far too many tears for a 17-year-old. Despite losing 11 acquaintances, including her father and boyfriend, to gun violence over the last decade, she has never deemed herself snakebitten, choosing to use pain to prove her mettle.
She will accept kudos for her efforts today, as the National Liberty Museum will dub her one of its 17 Young Heroes Award winners.
“I felt so happy to learn of the honor,” the resident of 22nd and Dickinson streets said Monday of inclusion in the 12th celebration of youngsters who show their character by forging chance in their communities or schools. “I have won honors before but nothing this big.”
In addition to endowing Scott with a certificate and a medal, the Old City site will give her the inaugural Troy Johnson Memorial Award, which derives its name from a youth mentor who last year became one of Philadelphia’s 324 homicide victims. It also will add her story to its “Young Heroes” exhibit, but the teenager feels her work remains in its infancy.
“I am a hero in training or hero support,” the recent graduate of Prep Charter High School, 1929 Point Breeze Ave., said. “A hero is someone who can change a person’s life without trying, but I’m not that yet.”
Her peers and mentor Molly Schamel seem to differ. The latter met Scott in October 2010, seven months after the young lady said farewell to her boyfriend. As a therapist for Fairmount’s 30-year-old Anti-Violence Partnership of Philadelphia, Schamel spent six months offering individualized treatment to Scott before starting a six-member peer support group for co-victims of homicide.
“Haniyyah is the strongest young person I have met, and the other kids soon realized that if she could survive so many losses, they could also find ways to heal,” Schamel said.
Her sway won Scott immediate respect from her contemporaries, with calls for fortitude and creativity fostering their relationships.
“Some might say I’m being bossy, but I’m just displaying leadership,” Scott said.
Her abundant maturity led Schamel to nominate Scott in June, with the two receiving great news last month. The windfall came as a thrilling yet briefly enjoyed distinction, as she parted with another ally, her boyfriend’s best friend, July 30.
“At times it has been hard to take it all in,” Scott said of the staggering amount of people with whom she has had premature partings. “I understand death, but I wonder why it keeps affecting so many people close to me. I’ve actually become a bit jaded by it.”
With five relatives, including an infant, among the deceased, she noted many of the losses have come within her Point Breeze neighborhood. The first, however, occurred outside of the city and bred a means of recuperation that she has expanded through nearly two years with AVP, the lone Philadelphia organization whose mission focuses on reducing the entire cycle of violence by providing intervention, prevention and support programs.
“I was distant from my father, but his death hit me hard,” she said of her patriarch’s ’02 demise in Pittsburgh. “It still hits me hard because it has been 10 years and because he couldn’t see me go to my senior prom or graduate.”
Though only 7 at the time, Scott penned a poem for the slain figure, initiating a love for writing by analyzing her despair and its battle with hope for her soul. While mathematics interested her at the West Passyunk secondary institution, she engrossed herself in serving as a scribe among her peer group colleagues, always eager to pursue her muse, even if the topics seemed dark.
“I have an abundance of poems,” she said of her time at AVP, “and write about whatever comes to mind.”
A self-confessed terrible artist, Scott also has attempted to develop her artistic voice through collaging and painting. She has yet to decide what the outcome of her output might be, but Schamel, who discussed her protege’s writing prowess in her nomination, feels Scott’s handiwork encompasses much resolve.
“I realize the power of my writing,” Scott said, “but I really try through it to help other people to find their strength.”
Life has proven so daunting at times that Scott last year would have considered not losing a companion a priceless blessing. A cousin’s December death ended a period free of grief and reminded her again of life’s fragility. If not for an aunt’s suggesting AVP, she knows she might have fallen prey to self-pity.
“I’d tried other counselors, but none resonated with me or made me feel as if they knew what I was going through,” Scott said. “Molly is different and has helped me greatly.”
Schamel revealed that clients receive AVP tutelage for years, adding that grasping violent deaths and crafting the courage to preach tolerance should never be rushed processes. Her employer’s website notes that Philadelphia possessed last year’s highest homicide rate among the nation’s 10 largest cities, so tapping the confidence of youngsters, especially adolescents, who are often the main or secondary victims, compels her and has made her and Scott great friends.
“I want to study psychology so I can be to kids what Molly has been to me,” Scott said of her impending course of study at Cabrini College, where she will begin another chapter in her life Aug. 23, two days after her 18th birthday.
She has already attracted attention in her confines, as local children have christened her an inspiration for living respectable lives.
“I love it,” she said of being someone to whom they will tell their problems and make inquiries about their decisions.
The first person on her block to go to college, she does not engage in self-aggrandizement, seeing herself only as someone who has blended her resilience and resources to benefit others.
“I’ve been able to make many friends and will continue to try to be a beacon for them and others,” Scott said.
She and Schamel will attend the three-hour gathering together, although the latter, who has so often convinced her young chum to offer her opinions, will not be able to persuade her to say anything beyond “Thank you.”
“I am going to be very brief,” Scott said, adding her $500 prize will go toward her college tuition.
Though the Point Breeze resident shuns lauding herself, she cannot escape plaudits.
“I look at her commitment to growth as a blessing,” Schamel said. “Her story helps people to understand their privilege and gain an understanding of resilience.”
“I just want to make a difference,” Scott added. “If anybody needs help, I’ll never judge.”
For more information, visit avpphila.org.
Contact Staff Writer Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.
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