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 I was a Haitian immigrants. in my neighborhood was very rough I was talked about you a lot because my skin tone and how I spoke. one time I was walking anyway and a man was stealing from the store. The police Soon arrived and bodyslammed the man on the ground to simply handcuff him.this wasn’t the first time I seen your officer be extremely rude and rough with someone they were always extremely late and rude in my neighborhood.
I have a great neighborhood. Recently when I lost my wife everyone came together and took care of me for months. I had been married for 52 years and they knew how important she is to me.
When I first found love I know many people may not trust a lot of people in this world but if you just take one time out your life to get to know some one you will have an awesome day that day getting to know some one is building you a bond slowly and slowly many my be depressed but you can take the sad ness away
I grew up in Belle Glade, FL working in the corn fields with my father and mother. It was very hard and I did not get a chance to go to school that much because we were up back and forth on the road. We had a big family. We worked hard and sometimes we would go to New York in July. Growing up was good and we were always working.
The most important moment in my life (I was born and raised in Belle Glade). I lost my mom in 96 by of Belle Glade, an my son and nephew lost to gun violence a few years ago. After all of that, I am still standing, I might stumble, God has carried me. He is always there. Hypertension and diabetes and heart problems went through my family, and God has been there for us. My mom lived 7 years with kidney failure with NO medication. She didn’t suffer when she died. We took care of her and my husband when they were sick. We all take care of each other. That’s a family tradition.