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”).
Growing UP and being reared by my grandmother. She exposed us to numerous things.
I was born in a housing project.That’s where I lived with my family until I was 9.But life didn’t get better when we moved.In fact, we moved to a worse public housing project.I stayed there until I was 18, which is when I left for college. Since then, I’ve only been back three times and none in the last decade.
More and more Americans who struggle to get by are living in these marginalized, disinvested communities where jobs and educational opportunities are scarce, and an increasingly militarized police force is the primary contact residents have with government.
Living in my neighborhood is tough. It wasn’t easy for me at all. I have been a single mother of two since they was born. Not to many black males take care of their children around here.
I saw death the morning of my high school graduation. It let me know about