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”).
When I graduate from high school and went to college. I. Was the first in my family go off to school. My family was poor so he will work and different jobs he had to ask for loans. It was very hard.
When she was a dance teacher and she had to help her dancers understand all the good things that come from this small town and how it builds character.
Graduating from high school and keeping contact with everyone.
My home situation was slightly better than average when compared to the typical ghetto home life.My mom didn’t always work, but she took temporary work when she could and I never went hungry.
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.
Important moment in my life would be finding my first job. Nothing is giving to you around here so you have to go get it. I was 16 when McDonald’s hired me and I’ve been working since.