Vera Institute of Justice

Told directly through the eyes of the children featured in Denali Tiller’s documentary, Tre Maison Dasan is a moving portrait of three unforgettable young boys struggling to grow up with a parent in prison. They face the pressure of growing up in a society that often demonizes their parents, provides little support for their families, and assumes “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

The three children in Tre Maison Dasan, whose fathers are currently or were recently incarcerated in Rhode Island, provide a spectrum of responses to the same underlying issues. Tre, aged thirteen, is teeming with adolescent anger, both resentful of and dependent upon his incarcerated father. Maison is eleven, and has Asperger Syndrome, his nervous energy and eagerness clashing against the harsh prison boundaries. Dasan, only six, barely understands what a prison is. Vera’s Restoring Promise initiative, which is creating the wholesale transformation of young adult prison units so that they are restorative and rooted in human dignity, is committed to family engagement. As Father’s Day approaches, we are pleased to partner with the filmmakers of Tre Maison Dasan to support family and parenthood.

Please join us for a discussion on parenthood while incarcerated.

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• Denali Tiller is an artist and filmmaker, best known for her work directing and producing Tre Maison Dasan, a feature length documentary about three boys who have parents in prison. Tre Maison Dasan won multiple awards at festivals around the world, and premiered on PBS’ Independent Lens in April, 2019.

• Ebony Underwood is the Founder & CEO of WE GOT US NOW, a national movement built by, led by and about children and young adults impacted by parental incarceration with the mission to engage, educate, elevate, and empower this historically invisible population through the use of digital narratives, safe-spaces and advocacy led campaigns.

• Kharon Benson is a youth producer and former member of the Osborne Association’s Youth Advisory Board, where he successfully lobbied legislators in Albany to change New York State laws affecting children with incarcerated parents.

• In 2014, Douglas Duncan was released from Sing Sing—exiting through the same gates he entered 15 years ago—and reunited with his children. While incarcerated, he earned a Certificate in Ministry and Human Services from New York Theological Seminary, a Bachelor’s degree in Behavioral Science from Mercy College—while earning the distinct honor of being awarded the Ossie Davis Academic Excellence and Service Award—and a Master of Professional Studies in Urban Ministry from New York Theological Seminary. He has recently been accepted into Lehman College’s, Master of Social Work program for the upcoming 2019 Fall semester.

• Dr. Michelle Gantt is the Education Supervisor at the Metropolitan Detention Center. She received a national award for her continuous commitment to establishing groundbreaking events in the federal prison system to enhance the lives of families’ experiencing parental incarceration.

• Matthew Lowen (moderator) is a senior program associate at Vera’s Center on Youth Justice in the Restoring Promise initiative. Since joining Vera in 2017, he has also worked in the Center on Sentencing and Corrections on reducing the use of restrictive housing in state correctional agencies.