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.” Explore 50 responses below, selected at random. Which stories capture your attention? (Some responses were transcribed by youth volunteers.) To learn more about the storyteller and how they interpreted their response, click “Zoom In.”
Support (Story #618)
Community get together
The community I live in
Together, our analyses can offer a portrait of who is poor and why, and explore the public policy implications; we can lift up voices and lives that are normally ignored or caricaturized by the media; we can include people living on the brink in high-profile events that explore poverty and in our advocacy efforts.
Change for the better (Story #478)
2 shootings has happened that I know about his year in my community. That hurts me. Why is what I ask myself. Is this what the world is coming to?
Don’t do things
Growing up in my neighbor hood was bad because it was guns bullets on the floor every morning I was in this small part of town i stayed on cherry hill (that’s what they call the street) it was bad. My mom got tired of it. I wouldn’t want kids doing things they not supposed to be doing
Community man-Rickia
I pride myself on being the ladies’ man. I love the attention I got from the neighborhood women but not the m
Violence (Story #616)
Constant fighting
Good community (Story #249)
An important moment in my life is when my mom died. Everyone in the community came together to help me and my family out. People actually are good around here for the most part.
Give god the glory-billy penn
Living in this neighborhood is not about the drugs and the alcohol I was born in 1947 in Delray Beach hoping kids don’t follow in my foot steps if I got a problem I don’t do drugs but around people that do good and bad in my childhood never went to school
The Rough Neighborhood
I lived in a very rough neighborhood. There were often shootings and police officers knocking on doors to ask questions. Many times everyone seen the scene but would never speak on it. There was at least 3-7 shootings in a month. Till this day the neighborhood is the same.
The Tough Neighborhood
Growing up it was very tough it still is. There are people at the corner store everyday up to no good. There has been five shootings in the last month.Every-time there is a shooting no one knows anything. Almost every week there are kids fighting outside.
Living Dreams Through Nightmares
It’ll usually be 5:30 I’m at McDonald’s with my coffee, lab top, and WiFi. It’s a lot of sunshine because I’m on the good side 7:30. Then I start walking to the dark side where you usually see red and yellow tape, blue and red lights. Shaking hands with the good fellows with a smile but also with their hand behind their back having a knife. I hang out talking about sports and life then go to football practice and see bright lights.
All about bridges
When i was younger early 20s i moved to Boynton Beach from South Carolina and me and my sister had kids. It was really rough trying to do everything we was aware of any sources to help us we didn’t know about things like bridges and that would’ve been very useful. As i got older i knew about bridges Best thing of my life
Forever Service
Growing UP and being reared by my grandmother. She exposed us to numerous things.
Living in boynton beach
We’re I grew up you know a place like it: It’s segregated by race, and associated with poverty, crime, and violence .derogatively called “the ghetto” or “the ‘hood.” It’s the part of town that you have been cautioned to avoid.
Work together
You have probably gotten this story a hundred times already but the 2 shootings that had happened this year. Our young men are dying for no reason. They didn’t get to live their life. This is not good. The community needs to work together to prevent this.
Life in Belle Glade, FL
Positive: My kid and the community. Been cutting hair 27 years in community. Had ups and downs. Took 16 years to get off cocaine. Depends on god. Can do better. Robert Mitchell (commissioner): Trying to get own walmart in Belle Glade. Hard for kids to avoid negative environments. Parents also have influence on kids’ growth. Not a lot of hobbies for kids to do in community because small town. Trying to make the best of it. Started working at 5. Knows how to build a house from the ground up, did a lot of criminal stuff, but prays to god….
Buying a house- Devonte white
Important moment in my life was buying a house. I saved all my money and worked two jobs to get my own house. I did not want to live with my mom anymore
Growing Up Without Parents
Losing a mother and being raised by an aunt. This ensured that I had to over come obstacles and pave a way for myself and siblings to get through life.
Big world
Important moment in my life is when I got accepted into college. My main goal was to get away from boynton. My grandparents always told me to go out and see the world.
One good makes the world around.
I always user to help my neighbor. I use to pick stuff up for her, and go to the store. She was disabled.
Humble Servant
Bring able to come back and give back to the community. Doing stuff for those who gave to me as a kid.
Working for the US Sugar Co-Operation
Born in 1947, started working when I was 15 years old. Most important thing I experienced coming up is due to workforce-the sugar cane. I got older, getting a job with us sugar-I worked for 35 years. It was hard, very hard work but you had to make a living somehow. I also picked spring beans but the harvesters took the work away. I grew up in lake harbor and they bussed us to school. Quiet waters used to be lake shore high school and we were bussed from the camps in lake…
My community is a a blessing
My community is a blessing and is so nice. When you are down, someone will help you up. I’ve lived here my whole life and my children want me to move to WPB or Wellington but I don’t want to. It’s so nice growing up here. My children came last week and took me out to eat for my birthday. My sister lives nearby and we see each other often.
A helping him- laroderick richardson
My dad was working on my car in the front he was under the car when the car jacked slipped and the car slammed down on him he called out for him he calls out for help but I did Not hear him luckily our across the street neighbors herd him and rushed over to get the car off of him
Friends are supportive
I remember my mother died. She was a well known woman around the neighborhood. The day of her funeral there was atleast 200-250 people arrived. I was so shocked. This shows how supportive the people in Boynton are.
Living in Quiet Waters
Real nice. People are pretty nice, staff are nice. High school champions (Glades Central). Pretty comfortable. Moved here 10 years ago, still about the same. One of the best places in belle glade to live. Nice people come to visit.
The Care and Feed of Grandfathers.
Came here from Lantana and lived here since 1970. Ran service desks in Lantana, but business became difficult and would have to borrow money to keep it running. Didn’t want to do that. Had two small kids to support and be around. Came out here quite by accident. Called out to a mechanic job in the area he found in the newspaper. Discovered Pahokee when he came down, and decided to move the whole family here. When he came down here, someone helped him out to pay off his dying business. He was lucky. Started working here, and living in…
Coming to the city
I was in Haiti .Things was really hard so my family moved to the states and ended up in Boynton Beach. Things was different but was accepted it. All of crime and police lights.
Ms.T my Second Mother
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…
My important moment
Delray Beach isn’t my neighborhood. Moved here in 1990 as an consultant. Recently moved not long ago. In an important moment was when I moved here after working here for so long in the county.
Growing up in Boynton Beach (Story #417)
Growing up in Boynton Beach it was tough because segregation was hectic!
Good community (Story #458)
I agree with the previous person. You can’t base how the neighborhood is off of one moment. Not all moments are good and not all of them are bad. From the Boynton I know we have our ups and downs but we will always be a good community.
Growing up (Story #493)
Growing up in my community was going good at first but than it slanted. Things started to feel off but one day I seen this. Kid on the news he died because i fatal shoot out was happening. Around his neighborhood
My legacy- Rickia
I raised 6 boys into men and 4 girls into women. I currently have 22 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great grandchildren. I raised them off a salary of being a gardener during a time when it was very difficult to be anything. I now have Doctors , Lawyers and Business Owners
B-out day
B-out day, where there was a local football player who threw a event for the community there were bounce houses food and live music all across from the set
Mlk March-Rickia
I can remember the neighborhood coming together to watch the Mlk March and all my friends came over with they grandma because back then everyone couldn’t afford a tv
The Life
Me and my family moved from down here from New Jersey and the people here in this neighborhood helped me build this house for me and my 4 kids
The Wiser
Find God and Connection with someone older. I did this and it helped me get through a lot. The elder are wise
Community get together (Story #648)
Muck bowl
The hoa blues
The former president of our home owners association
Education (Story #613)
Going to school here
Lack of support
Family fueds
Katrina
Hurricane
Wake up
Important moment is when me and my friends got older . When we was young we didn’t know what was going on. But we was aware of the things once we was teenagers. All the drug dealers and murders opened our eyes
Safety first (Story #481)
I remember one night I was at home. Next thing you know I hear gunshots. I thought nothing of it until I went to watch the news the next day and seen somebody was shot and killed by my house. It worried me about my safety.
Important moment interview
Live in Jefferson manor and grand parents owned store in Delray. 4th generation and moved into grandparents old home. Loss job recently but thank God was able to keep the house, worked and traveled a lot professionally.
“Mama always said”
Everything my mama warned me about came true. So listen to everything and speak on nothing. That was the most important thing because of what was going on and i saw my sister not listen to anything as i listened to everything and long story short my me and my sister now live two totally different lifestyles
Situations
Living in my neighborhood was hell. My mom worked so hard for us to sell have less than it was a tough situation man we was always put out my sisters was acting up and it just wasn’t good for us
The story of success through hard work
Delray Beach is a comma that is evolving it wasn’t as safe as it is now back in the days also wassants clean and everyone that lived in Delray pitched together to help the comm it as much fun it is now in Delray.
Moslead
Well growing up in my neighborhood i had a sister and brother and my mother didn’t take care of me. Her mother did but there was a lot of that going on back then where mothers didn’t raise there children and i feel like that’s a major issues that’s why we have so many mislead children in the current generation
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