“We Are Here” Stories (List View)

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”).


Oct 14, 2018

Living in Belle Glade

This is a very diverse community. A lot of different nationalities. When I came here, I was raised in a community in South Carolina where there wasn’t such a diversity. When I came here, I saw how … a lot of times in a place like this you have to live it to understand it. It’s a community where people get along but I don’t think people are as close as they should be because of their upbringing. It’s very complicated. My brother drove 18 wheelers, filled vegetables from the field and brought them to the plants. I would ride with him and it was fun. Ive been to a lot of parts of Florida with him riding in his truck.
Oct 30, 2018

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.
Oct 29, 2018

Helpful neighbors- Kene

About a month after moving into my house, it flooded. So at one point we lost our kitchen so our neighbors were nice and fortunate enough to bring us meals.
Sep 19, 2018

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.
Mar 4, 2019

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.
Sep 15, 2018

My community (Story #423)

My neighborhood is filled with children,I see them having fun playing ball but I also see them fighting. They either arguing with their parents or just fighting with the other kids . long been clear that children from troubled neighborhoods have worse outcomes as adults. But it has been much harder to disentangle whether these neighborhoods cause the later disadvantage, or whether the hardships that lead families to bad neighborhoods are the problem.