“We Are Here” Story Collection

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.”

Don’t become

Growing was odd for me I was thinking that if I do this I’ll become better but me doing it didn’t make me come better it made me. A threat to the system now I can’t get the job I want all because I seen the. Grown ups doing things
Zoom In

Go get it (Story #219)

Important moment is when my friends started going to jail or getting killed. Around here it’s not that many options. You just have to find a way to go get what you want whether it’s good or bad.
Zoom In

Born and raised in Delray Beach- Kene

Giving birth to my children. I was born and raised in Delray so it was nice to have all my family and friends present. And something I’m looking forward to oneday, is purchasing my own house in Delray for my family.
Zoom 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.
Zoom In

Don’t Give Up Hope

Growing up in a poor community. Pakhoke was a large work camp. The community raised the children. My mother did farm work. There was no violence. We were taught principles to work for what we want and … We were raised in the church. We love Pahokee, but now it’s sad to see what Pahokee has become as the jobs have moved out. There are broken families, not enough food to eat, not enough guidance for the younger generation. We need to work to enjoy life and earn what we get. There are few kids to have the opportunity to…
Zoom In

Scary story- Rickia Petty

I was in my room and playing cards then my friend ran in yelling my name i was confused he said they found a dead body i said a dead body? He said a dead body i said where they said in a lake they went to the scene but my mom said i couldn’t go
Zoom In

A hole left in me

When Greg Bryant jr was shot in a drive by shooting on i-95. It impacted me and my brother a lot because we grew up with him and that shooting made me look at life different. I started doing things different and staying out of trouble
Zoom In

La familia

Every Christmas is a good Christmas in Boynton. Later in the evening everybody in the neighborhood is dressed up and goes to the Hester center. The kids love going the get to show off what they got an have a good time. The good thing about this is nobody gets upset because if one person I the community got everybody does. We are a family.
Zoom In

Good and Bad

Growing up round violence. Family Orientation around the community and motivation.
Zoom In

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
Zoom In

Don’t do what they do

Growing up in lake worth beach Florida was ok at first till group of kids thought they were man enough to handle things. Going out stealing cars , robing people, hitting people and other things
Zoom In

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
Zoom In

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.
Zoom In

A family community.

The neighborhood was a family, every child was each other’s, whenever there were needs, the others would help. My mother died in 1977, my neighbor had 4 girls but made sure we had decent clothes to wear. Born one of thirteen children, dad worked on the farm, woke up at 3 am and came home late. Mom was authority figure, caring for one another. Did not have much but made sure we had enough. We didn’t see ourselves as being poor. If someone was sick, we helped each other.
Zoom In

Don’t be one

Well boynton wasn’t the same in 1967 there were street gangs street violence drug lords and kids dying
Zoom In

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.
Zoom In

My community (Story #315)

Living in my community is when you see two people fighting and another person is just recording it or “hyping” it up .People in this community don’t see things until they know when to stop.people use phones to control their life instead of books .back than when slavery was still happening,they would try to run away to learn how to read .
Zoom In

One Big Family

My neighbor next door made sure that I got home safely from school while my parents were at work. The community was one big family.
Zoom In

Moving

Growing up in my neighborhood i was the only white kid there but i tried so hard to fit in. I would just go with the flow of doing what the others did. I couldn’t play football at all and i couldn’t play basketball but that’s something everyone was great at but i was a great runner and when we raced everyone wanted to be on my team or wanted me to be on there’s and it made me feel great
Zoom In

Friendly welcome to the neighborhood- Kene

When I moved into my house in my neighborhood, there were neighbors and friends of mine that already lived there that were sitting in my driveway waiting to help me unload my furniture. I didn’t ask for it, but they were just curtious enough to offer me assistance.
Zoom In

Different lifestyle

When I young living in my neighborhood was different from today. We couldn’t do the things that the young people do today. The white kids had more privilege then us blacks we couldn’t even go to the beach.
Zoom In

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.
Zoom In

Accused for nothing

I was driving to the corner store and came across a police scene. I walk inside and asked what’s going on. The clerk says that it’s nothing they just came outta do nowhere and started bothering the folks outside. No violence or disruptions going on but they were being harassed.
Zoom In

Care

When my dad earned dad earned his citizenship we were very happy and when we came home everyone else was happy as well we could tell because they threw him a little get together and we thought that was pretty nice that they cared.
Zoom In

Family and friends

If you ever pass by the Hester you’ll always see kids playing around. The Hester center is the spot to be for kids. That shows how kids today are not always in competition but they are family.
Zoom In

lost and found

one moment in my life is the time when this girl was kidnapped right and the whole community came togheter to help find her.
Zoom In

Love at first sight

Im Native American and I was in college when i met my husband. I was at lunch eating my food and some football players came and tried to take my food then my husband i did not know was going to be my husband came and defended me.
Zoom In

New beginning- Kene

Well I’m originally from Columbia, came over when I was 8 years old, I didn’t know anybody, didn’t know English. It’s important to know English, and finding mindful resources. Also I’ve delivered toys to unfortunate families to give them toys. Gave homeless people clothes around winter to stay warm.
Zoom In

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
Zoom In

L I F E

In 2011, child poverty reached record high levels, with 16.7 million children living in food insecure households, about 35% more than 2007 levels. A 2013 UNICEF report ranked the U.S. as having the second highest relative child poverty rates in the developed world.According to a 2016 study by the Urban Institute, teenagers in low income communities are often forced to join gangs, save school lunches, sell drugs or exchange sexual favors because they cannot afford food.
Zoom In

Differences

Everybody needs to have a place to live and everybody needs to get along. Out here where i live now there’s a mixed races but mostly Mexicans even though we have different cultures and beliefs were all able to come together and have a great time.
Zoom In

The outreach group

Me and my neighbor work together and made an outreach program at.I soon became involved with many other churches and outreach programs like the one at “agape”.I organized volunteer groups and helping out with special needs at the church. The church and neighborhood work as one big team
Zoom In

My community (Story #367)

42% the death of a family member or friend, 23% the illness of a family member or friend, and 17% a nonmedical event. During a comprehensive assessment, participants identified the most stressful event that they had experienced in the past 5 years and, subsequently, rated its stressfulness and perceived consequences.
Zoom In

Helping hand- Kene

One morning I got up and went running and as I was running I seen this person struggling to get stuff out the car, and so I had a feeling in my gut to help out so I ran towards the person and asked can I land a hand with those, and so the person let me helped and as soon as I was done helping , she rewarded me with a beverage and ever since that me and that person became good friends, it’s a very good thing to help people in the neighborhood no matter what it is.
Zoom In

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
Zoom In

Where’s the respect-Rickia

I remember back in the day we could never speak back to an adult when they said what they say that’s what it was now days you can’t say anything to these kids they always have something to say back. in my neighborhood the kids are very disrespectful they knock on your door and Run they play and throw rocks around people cars.
Zoom In

Happiness- Kene

The birth of my daughter. She motivated me to change my life around to live for her sake.
Zoom In

Value -Rickia

I mean pretty much what my sister said our family was very loving we had everything we needed when we were struggling we didn’t even notice my family with a great family and we stuck together through everything we kept our business out of the streets
Zoom In

Getting to Know Jupiter

I decided to move to Jupiter three years ago. I didn’t know much about it before but had so much to learn. So many people move to Jupiter and Palm Beach County from out of the state, I learned especially from the northeast. I sought to get to know the community, the good and the bad. I just wonder if the people moving down here do as well?
Zoom In

Haiti Family

I grew up projects in belle glade the neighborhood was very nice. They will help out anytime if you need it, friends will help the best way they can. And what I love most about belle glade is they would cook food for anyone that is starving. My part of town in belle glade was very helpful its like having a family.
Zoom In

Still Growing

All parents were the mother of all of the children when I was growing up
Zoom In

Gangs-Rickia

I grew up in a time that gangs became our family and they saved my life. When family couldn’t do for me they did. My mom was on drugs when i was in my early 20s i had a son so i had to get out of it we Destruction peace in my neighborhood
Zoom In

The Day at the Store

I Remember as a young adult about 18-20 when me and my mother were at a local store and I was referred to as “boy” by a white man. My mother didn’t react calmly at all to this she yelled at the man for his disrespectful attitude and words. At first I had no clue why my mother would react like that.As time passed by and I grew older I realized she felt him calling me a “boy”was degrading. Because our past during segregation she explained how that reference would always be degrading no mater what.
Zoom In

Helping earth other out

I grew up with my grandparents they was very old so they didn’t have much control of my brothers and I. We grew up not having much we had to work with what we got.
Zoom In

The day i brought my neighborhood together-Nelcael Joseph

The most important time in my life was when i was able to bring my family together along with my whole community not only was it done by someone in my community but by a female me myself France Haven was able to set up a family fun day within my neighborhood to bring everyone together.
Zoom In

A Hard Life but a Good Ending (Story #47)

My parents were migrant workers and we lived in Okeechobee center Projects. Ive been out here 47 years but moved to NY in 1974. Then moved back t Belle Glade, then I met my husband and now Ive been here for 47 years now. I was a big family everyone showed love. Then my husband died 2016 and I moved into Quiet waters. I remember when there was no Wendy’s, McDonalds or anything here. Just a hospital and one lane road. Now there’s everything. I started work in corn field 1976 and in 1979 I started driving tractors, then my…
Zoom In

Refresh the page to see another random set of stories or view the stories and micro-narratives in a list.