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The kid who built an urban treehouse to survive

Donald "Fish" Vaughn
Anthony Ivy
/
KALW
Donald "Fish" Vaughn

This story aired in the April 18, 2023 episode of Crosscurrents.

As kids many of us dreamt of building and playing in a tree house. For Donald Vaughn, also known as “fish”, that became his everyday reality… but it was far from a dream. Cold, hungry and all alone, Vaughn was kicked out of his house at 11 years old, and built a makeshift treehouse in order to survive. Anthony Ivy, one of our Uncuffed producers at Solano State prison, asked Vaughn to share his nightmare of being unloved, unkept and isolated.

"It started raining. Then ya know it gets cold. Thats when I saw the big tree, a weeping willow."

This piece was brought to you from the team at Uncuffed and edited by Andrew Stelzer and Sonia Paul with sound design from Eric "Maserati-E" Abercrombie. Our work in prisons is supported by the California Arts Council, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and donations from listeners like you. The producers fact-check content to the best of their ability. Content is approved by an information officer.

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Learn more, sign up for Uncuffed news, and support the program at www.weareuncuffed.org 

Click the play button above to listen to this interview.

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From The Producers Of Uncuffed
Anthony Ivy, originally from North Stockton, California, is a dedicated producer for the Uncuffed Outside Team and a member of KALW's Audio Academy Training program. Recently released after serving a 13-year prison sentence, Anthony demonstrated resilience and talent by producing numerous impactful stories from within the prison walls. One of his recent episodes, “Hole in the Heart,” received a national award from the Public Media Journalism Association and was broadcast nationwide on NPR’s “All Things Considered.” The episode was also featured on Snap Judgment. Since his release, Anthony has been steadfastly pursuing success, bringing unique and powerful perspectives from the other side of incarceration.
Uncuffed
Stories from inside California prisons