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”).
Important moment in my life was just becoming a man. I had to learn to do for my self in these streets.
Outsiders often criticized Eastside residents for not taking care of their own community, or not doing enough to stymie the drug trafficking. This victim-blaming ignored the roots of the drug problem—the lack of opportunity, racism, and economic forces outside of residents’ control—and it ignored the role that outsiders played.
A boy was once tragically hit by a train. I stayed clear of the tracks after that incident . The train tracks were right in front of my home.
Growing up as a kid brings you joy and happiness Remembering the past makes you smile. I was always a good child. Listen choose the good never the bad
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
There was recently a shooting at a corner store in the police officer went around asking questions to everyone I stood outside and listen to everyone’s response and every single person said the same thing they didn’t hear anything they didn’t see anything and didn’t know what was going on I did not personally know the person who had got shot but I felt bad because there’s no way this person would get justice with the way everybody was taking the situation and the responses the police officers we’re getting