Palm Beach County residents were asked:
Please tell us about an important moment in your life that would help someone understand what it’s like living in your neighborhood.
The stories and micro-narratives they submitted (as part of the We Are Here SenseMaker project) are listed below. Click ZOOM IN to learn more about the community member and how they interpreted their submission. NOTE: Some stories were partially transcribed by volunteers who shortened the narratives and referred to the storytellers in the third person (e.g., “her experience was” instead of “my experience was”).
Growing up in the ghetto is rough. I managed to get out and I’m never going back, but the lessons I learned about human nature will stay with me forever
Many People in the past wouldn’t understand the life I was going through my mother didn’t care for me , my farther didn’t care for me I was a problem child in and out of the detention center . I dropped out of school at the age 16 and became something these Young’s kids shouldn’t become in this world you only get one mother and one farther even if they Are not here with you. Just learn to love those who are .
I would just tell them it’s a good place versus west palm beach. The people are friendly. Wrong doing everywhere, but the larger the community, the more stable it is.
Growing up in Delray Beach Fl I was always a problem child I brought disappointment to my mom and family than that made me realize that what I did shouldn’t be happening anymore , my mom told me. “Baby don’t do that no more “ that’s the day I smiled remember it like it was yesterday
When my mother kicked me out of the house I spent nights sleeping in a park while trying to finish high school. I had no bed, no shower,and no food.I went back to my old neighborhood and knocked on the door of Ms.T she was a well known lady kind of like the mother of my neighborhood.All I wanted was something to eat. But Ms.T didn’t just give me a meal. She took me into her home, where he had warm food and a roof over his head she treated me like her very own son. She also brought me to church down the street, and helped me find a job and apply for a social security card and my VISA