Sitting in the Fire

'Sitting in the Fire' examines the spillover effect of rehabilitation programs in prison, on gun violence prevention in communities. Born and raised in Richmond, California to a single mother, Vaughn Miles fell into the dangers of his environment at an early age. After being sentenced to life in prison for murder at twenty years old, it took Vaughn Miles years before his transformation.

Once he arrived at newly reformed San Quentin State Prison, he was exposed to programs that pushed him to address his childhood trauma and violent triggers. After 24 years in prison, Vaughn was released from San Quentin and went back to his hometown of Richmond, CA — just 24 miles from prison. Now, Vaughn works as an Agent of Change at the Office of Neighborhood Safety: a gun violence prevention and youth outreach initiative, to end gun violence in the place he once helped destroy.