“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”).


Mar 4, 2019

Violence (Story #609)

Gun violence
Aug 30, 2018

Don’t be the one

Well coming up in the city of lake worth. I wasn’t Always a girl who had friends No one liked me because of my skin or where I came from they used to pick on me. , call me names , billy me because what I wear and what I language I speak
Sep 19, 2018

My life (Story #98)

Many of them have worked for decades examining poverty-related issues—from hiring discrimination to segregation in housing and education, criminal justice reform to immigration, deep poverty to homelessness. Even though they had devoted their lives to fighting poverty, some of the participants asked whether their work made any difference at all.
Sep 17, 2018

My community (Story #347)

An important moment in my life is when discussions leads into other things such as fighting and killing.Many people don’t get over the fact that you had an argument and can end with a simple apology but it leads to other dangerous things.
Oct 2, 2018

School Daze

Once when I was walking to school an early morning I immediately noticed that there was police cars swarming the school I later found out that the police were there because someone had gotten shot it was especially a traumatic experience for me because i simply was never introduced to violence such as so
Sep 10, 2018

The right thing

When I was 16 I saw someone get killed. After that I knew the neighborhood wasn’t safe. I told myself that when I get older I’m going to do the right thing.