CINCINNATI — There is not a day that goes by that Jessica Gassett doesn’t think of her cousin.
Ahmyah Stanley, 21, was shot and killed by her brother Myshawn Stanley, 22, last year.
“He had just slaughtered her like she was a pig,” Gassett said.
He shot her multiple times. Stanley's family said her brother killed her because he wanted to play the video game Fortnite and she wanted to watch TV. It happened in Gassett’s home.
“All I heard was ‘Myshawn get the ‘F’ off of me, Myshawn get the ‘F’ off of me, you’re going to jail, you’re going to jail,” Gassett said.
Then she heard multiple gunshots.
“I had seen her body at the bottom of my steps,” she said.
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Gassett said her cousin’s dream was to own a hair salon. She said Stanley was six months shy of graduating hair school. She remembers her for her vibrant and bubbly personality — even called her, her twin. Gassett said it’s been hard not seeing her every day.
“I will never hear ‘I love you twin’ ever again,” she said.
Gassett said what keeps her going is her 10-year-old daughter and the work she does with Save our Youth Kings & Queens, a job she got through Beech Acres Parenting Center.
“Beech Acres has helped me really in this situation a lot,” Gassett.
The nonprofit helps children and adults in various ways.
“We provide evidence-based education as well as parent coaching. We also provide community support groups. We also want to hear from the community to see what they need from us and how we can provide preventative services,” said Victoria Jamison, director of Thriving Families Prevention Services.
Beech Acres also offers mental health support in over 20 schools in the Cincinnati area. They also partnered with Save Our Youth Kings and Queens to offer support services to victims of gun violence.
“Firearms is the leading cause of death among children and teens … and so we have seen the effects of that even if a client that we serve may not have direct interaction with a gun or gun violence, but they may have a family member or a friend who has experienced violence in the home,” said Dr. Carrie Bunger, vice president of effective school solutions.
On Tuesday, Beech Acres will give a presentation during the Cincinnati City Council Healthy Neighborhoods Committee meeting where they will talk about youth violence.
“We understand that youth gun violence is both a community problem and a community solution,” Bunger said.
Beech Acres has received some funding from the city which has helped hundreds of parents and children. Bunger said they are grateful for the city’s support, but she said they need more funds to help with preventative measures.
“We need increased funding across the community and the area of prevention. Oftentimes, funding is devoted to the areas where something has happened, after a crisis or after a shooting, or when it necessitates in terms of treatment ... so we want to get upstream and provide support in a preventative manner,” she said. “Unfortunately, the funding isn’t there, so sustained funding would be critical again across all community partners in order to really change the trajectory of a child’s life.”
Gassett said Beech Acres was there for her during one of the darkest times of her life — even when it was just a listening ear for her.
“It has been purely hell this year,” she said.
As her family continues to mourn, Gassett said they planned a balloon release on Sunday to remember her cousin.
