Dashawn Jenkins, Lay Him Down with Dignity

On the 31st of March, a day after his birthday, my nephew Dashawn "Dada" Jenkins was found unresponsive in his cell at Rikers Island, making this the fifth death this year to occur at this facility. He was 27. He was my sister's youngest child, torn from her care when she was only 20. Raised in an environment that is all too unforgiving for little black boys with bright smiles, Miracle Makers, a foster care agency that is now defunct, did my nephew a disservice by promising to provide treatment and resources that simply did not exist, defrauding the state of New York out of millions. He is not the first child to fall prey to this system, but he can be the last.

Our family, who is already splintered by the affected separation of siblings, are asking those whose lives or lives of a loved one were affected in such a way, to help us bury him with dignity and kindness. Our goal is the bare minimum of what is normal in these cases, but if we can put a deposit down, we can lay him to rest sooner and gather together as one whole family to say goodbye.