The Delta Project Nonprofit

In 2017, a student in juvenile detention asked Cole Williams a simple, yet profound question, "How do I become something I don't see?" Cole's life work is to provide mentorship and guidance to incarcerated fathers and restore relationships between boys and men of color. He has experienced and seen a lot in his life, but still, this question caught him slightly off guard. It was the right question to ask, at the absolute right time. It required reflection, and ultimately action. Cole approached Joel Van Kuiken in late summer 2017 looking for guidance on how to deconstruct the question's meaning and context, and most importantly, how to act. Then they reached out to Eric Johnson, a trusted creative collaborator from Gorilla Motion Pictures, and posed the question to him. Now that question has become a north star, as they've launched The Delta Project. At its core, it's a focused effort to help young men in the Kent County Juvenile Detention Center become something they don't yet see by providing life skills and support in residential treatment programs and during probation. As a storytelling approach, they've developed a video production process that uses a two-way mirrored camera device that lets two people look into each other's eyes and carry on a conversation. The result is a fascinating split-screen video dialogue, in the vein of Errol Morris, that allows the viewer to almost join the conversation. But here's what's great about it. They teach the young men video production skills, and they train one of them to conduct an interview with a leader from the community who they wouldn't have the opportunity to see. And the young men lead the production. The videos are just beginning to scratch the surface, there is so much work to do. The Delta Project is working to promote change where it is needed most -- in the lives of young men returning home to their community. Please visit the website and watch the interviews, and know that much more is on the way.