Miya Brophy-Baermann’s mother awarded for honoring daughter’s memory

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — The Victims Grove ceremony at Memorial Park in downtown Providence honored those who serve victims of crime in Rhode Island.

The event was held Wednesday in honor of National Crime Victims’ Rights week.

“Through the most harrowing grief, Miya’s mother has carried herself with remarkable dignity and grace,” Ana Giron of the Office of the Attorney General said. “She has not only mourned her daughter but honored her in the most powerful way.”

Michelle Brophy-Baermann was one of the recipients of the award.

She started a scholarship in honor of her late daughter, Miya Brophy-Baermann, who was killed in a drive-by shooting in Providence in August of 2021 in a case of mistaken identity.

Michelle and her husband creating the “Miya’s Voice” scholarship, which aimed to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in speech language pathology and audiology.

“My daughter had just graduated with her masters in speech language pathology in May before she was killed,” Brophy-Baermann said. “She had noted to us that the field was very heavily white and female and it was one of the things that was really important to her.”

She added that creating the scholarship has acted as a distraction for her as she continues to navigate a life without her daughter.

“It will be four years in August,” she said. “It’s doing good and it’s keeping her legacy alive and I know she’d be really proud of it.”