Street Addiction Institute, Inc. -SAII

Tonight, we honor our next group of 2026 high school graduates. The youth showcased below represent Perseverance, Resilience, & Fortitude!

Fortitude represents:
Endurance: The willingness and determination to "stay focused" through adversity. For example, one of our clients was homeless during their senior year. But despite the sadness and loneliness they felt they were determined to graduate on-time.

Another example is one of clients became a mother less than six (6) weeks ago. Prior to going out on maternity leave from school she attended her classes and remains confident that one day soon after graduation she can enroll into a part-time nursing program with the goal of becoming a Certified Nursing Assistant before working her way to become a Registered Nurse.

Mental Toughness:
The ability to remain steadfast in the face of danger or hardship.

This past April one of our clients earned their GED while in placement. Their Sponsor visited them every week FAITHFULLY and made sure that each visit consisted of words of encouragement, wisdom based on their own lived experience, and promises they could keep-“ remember who you are, where you came from, and where you are headed…I’ll always be right by your side.”

With Sponsorship comes a great responsibility.

Consistency, transparency, and above all else Leading with LOVE to help heal the heart.

Without further ado, with tears in my eyes I ask that you give a standing ovation to:

Katye B.: Binghamton City School District; Career Pathway-Construction

Janiel C.J.: Nottingham High School, Onondaga Community College, Automotive Technology (A.A.S.)

Colin G.: Binghamton City School District, School of Nursing-SUNY BROOME Community College (A.A.S.);

Niylah R. SCSD-Corcoran High School , School of Nursing, SUNY Upstate NY.

Markel R. Jr.: SCSD-Henninger High School, Entrepreneurship in Fashion Design & Pattern Making;

Janiyah W.: SCSD-Corcoran High School, Career Pathway: Certified Nursing Assistant

Not featured:
Donald Ventro: SCSD Anthony A. Henninger High School

Noteworthy, is that Donald is graduating one year early. He was a 2027 graduate but earned all of his credits before completing his junior year.

We are extremely proud of you all. Take a bow ladies & gents! You beat the odds when all of the cards were unjustly stacked against you!

Love Dr. Salaam

Syracuse City School District Binghamton City School District Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. Delta Alpha Gamma Zeta

City of Syracuse - Office of the Mayor Onondaga County

Meet Dawn M. Pierce who stands as the senior staff member on the team.

Ms. Pierce started out as a Community Engagement Specialist with Unbeylievable Enterprises, Corp. for two years.

Then she transitioned into the Sponsor position with SAII serving every program we offered.

Ms. Pierce #1 star quality is
relationship building with younger clients.

With almost ten years of service between both companies it is fair to say Ms. Pierce found her home with SAII.

Fun facts:
Favorite color: Pink and white
Favorite Movie: Scarface

Advice to our graduating high school seniors,
“Be yourself and never let someone else dictate your future.”

With an infectious smile and a heart of gold we are elated that you are on our team.

Sincerely,

Dr. Salaam

Timothy “Noble” Jennings-Bey created the only theory in the world that describes the root cause of the street dynamic specifically addressing gang and gun violence as a behavioral addiction.

Jennings-Bey posits that the streets have an addictive nature similar to co***ne, alcohol, and gambling. Individuals exposed to the street dynamic are in need of respite and rehabilitation.

The SAM curriculum (Street Addiction Model) is a 10-step curriculum that assists individuals on their journey to become an instrument of peace.

His motto “the mirror is where the healing starts” is the foundation of ways in which our team engages with our target population. SAII focuses on adolescents to adults focusing on minimizing trauma induced by neighborhood conflict that can potentially lead to a pattern of non-productive behaviors (e.g. Street Addiction).

Background:
In 1996 Jennings-Bey began his career as Violence Prevention Specialist. In this role he created lines of communication between feuding neighborhoods.

Over the course of three decades Noble has become a sentence in the nerrative of violence prevention in the city of Syracuse, any and the greater Onondaga County community.

His legacy extends throughout major institutions within the city of Syracuse such as but not limited to:

-Upstate Medical: VEPOP (Violence, Education, and Prevention Outreach Program)

-Syracuse University Falk College of Sports: 14 empirical research published studies

-Syracuse Trauma Response Team: a three tier process for responding to shootings and homicides on a 24 hrs basis

-Syracuse TRUCE: outreach services for high profile gang affiliated neighborhoods

-SNUG: co-writer for the grant providing valuable insights on how to administer effective programming for violence prevention

-Onondaga District Attorney’s Office: administered group sessions and one-on-ones with individuals charged with fi****ms

Education:
Noble is a proud graduate of HENNINGER High School🖤💛. He holds a BS in Criminal Justice from Empire State College with 30 years of experience and expertise in the area of Gang Violence & Prevention.

Fun Facts:
Most Proud Professional Accomplishment:
“Bringing peace between neighborhoods, creating the theory of “ STREET ADDICTION” and having the theory implemented on the ground in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Favorite Color: Olive Green
Favorite Movie: V for Vendetta
Favorite pastime: Playing Chess

One word of advice for our 2026 graduating seniors: “Take up Space! STAY BIG!!!”

Noble has a multitude of published research-based studies and pedagogy:

Below is a short list of empirical research articles published in the National Library of Medicine, The University Chicago Press, Journal of Urban Health: Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, Addiction Research and Theory, E-PARCC, Taylor & Francis Online and the associated ResearchGate publication, Meharry Medical College Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, and National Institute of Health.

Body of Work:

2012-Street Addiction: A proposed theoretical model for understanding the draw of street life and gang activity

2015-The Trauma Response Team: A
community intervention for gang violence.

2017-Responding to gun murders in Syracuse: A multimodal intervention approach.

2017-Neighborhood trauma due to violence a multilevel analysis.

2017-Spatio-temporal patterns of gun violence.

2018-Blood in the Rust Belt: Mourning and memorialization in the context of community violence.

2018-Community Gun Violence as a Social Determinant of Elementary School Achievement.

2018-Culturally congruent mentorship can reduce disruptive behavior among elementary school students: results from a pilot study.

2019- Bringing in the Community: A University-Community Endeavor to Teach Marital and Family Therapy Students about Community-Based Violence and Trauma.

Noble you are a blessing to the community. You are a Genius and your work and legacy are worthy of its praise.

Salute 🫡!

Sincerely,

The Home Team