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”).
Moving out my mom house was important to me.Things can get hard around Boynton so I had to make a way. Even though I moved out my mom still had to help me.
I have lived in my house for 35 years. When my husband passed away about 20 years ago,my income was to low and I lost the house. I eventually ran into money problems and stop paying the mortgage. The lender foreclosed the property, and the house was sold, leaving Me without a home.My neighbor/friend from a few doors down, Shelley, couldn’t stand the thought of me living in a hotel room, so she and a few other members from my neighborhood put down $167,450 to buy the house back for me.
Living in my neighborhood is repeated racism and violence all over again .When you’re old and worthless you can’t control the people you want to control, kids are dying slowly because skin color and many hate themselves because of people treating them like they deserve to be treated like that .my community is nothing perfect when it comes from living in the ghetto.
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
When I returned from War I had a hard time adjusting. My father told our neighbor about how hard it was for me so he took among himself to give me a job which help me start my life over, he also gave other men in the town jobs as well. I still thank him til this day because if it wasn’t for the love he had I would have lost my mind and I never would have married his daughter and took over the family business.
Gunshots in the middle of the day preventing you from leaving your home