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.” Explore 50 responses below, selected at random. Which stories capture your attention? (Some responses were transcribed by youth volunteers.) To learn more about the storyteller and how they interpreted their response, click “Zoom In.”
My story
All the best conversation is happening in GroupMe, Slack, WhatsApp, private email lists, or over drinks after work. People feel comfortable analyzing, debating, and joking in these places, where they can express themselves without fear of judgment, unwanted notifications, or death threats.
Living in Belle Glade
This is a very diverse community. A lot of different nationalities. When I came here, I was raised in a community in South Carolina where there wasn’t such a diversity. When I came here, I saw how … a lot of times in a place like this you have to live it to understand it. It’s a community where people get along but I don’t think people are as close as they should be because of their upbringing. It’s very complicated. My brother drove 18 wheelers, filled vegetables from the field and brought them to the plants. I would ride…
Choose the right ones
Listen the way people can be brought up is by choice the way they can live life is by the way they want to most people may do more bad things after one mistake and some may be forgiven
Work together
You have probably gotten this story a hundred times already but the 2 shootings that had happened this year. Our young men are dying for no reason. They didn’t get to live their life. This is not good. The community needs to work together to prevent this.
Getting to Know Jupiter
I decided to move to Jupiter three years ago. I didn’t know much about it before but had so much to learn. So many people move to Jupiter and Palm Beach County from out of the state, I learned especially from the northeast. I sought to get to know the community, the good and the bad. I just wonder if the people moving down here do as well?
Violence (Story #609)
Gun violence
Look outs
I started earlyOne of the most important moments in my life was when I met the coach of Carver High Football team. He saw me playing in the streets with my friend and told me I have a talent. Everyday he would pick me and my friends up and take us to football practice and take us home at night Because my parents couldn’t drive and most parents in the neighborhood did not have cars. He remained my coach all the way through high school and help me get a scholarship to go to college. That where I’m from, a…
The Ghetto
My House was shot at
I’m a Nice Guy
I’ve been a teacher for over 10 years. I will never forget at my young early stages of teaching about 20 years old. A young black male came up to me and said “your a nice guy”. I smiled and said,”Thank you” he replied with “your the first nice white man I have ever met, I was always told that white people are bad and mean.” I look at him and smiled I said “well yes there are many bad white people just like many bad black people. never judge someone off there skin tone.”
The Life
Me and my family moved from down here from New Jersey and the people here in this neighborhood helped me build this house for me and my 4 kids
Surviving
Living around here is pretty tough. At times you realize how people act as a community and how everything is seen. On an individual level it depends on how you look at it. All the things kind of go not so well. Growing up here i realized that this is a survival city. If you can survive here, you can survive anywhere. Living here will toughen you up or fold you. There is no in between. I wish as a community as a whole people could see the daily struggles. A few individuals ruin it for the whole. For examples…
It’s life
My race has always given me a problem. Police always tend to look me up and down. Stop me in stores and ask questions. No specific moment but jut life in general.
Goods of Delray- Kene
I would just tell them it’s a good place versus west palm beach. The people are friendly. Wrong doing everywhere, but the larger the community, the more stable it is.
The crash- Rickia
At the age of 13 I was in a fatal car accident that caused me to be in a wheel chair. My community came together to support my mom because my Father died in the crash. I’m still alive here today and although it has changed my life, the love remain the same
My move to Pahokee, FL
When my husband decided that our family would move to his hometown of Pahokee, FL. I knew it would be a significant change moving from a metropolitan city, 1,000,000+ to a small city of about 6,000 people. My husbands return home was two fold. He wanted to be close to his family-mother, father, brothers and sister but also wanted to help his community by becoming the Mayor, which meant for him using all that he had learned and experienced, bringing it back home to Pahokee. He was adamant about returning home from the day we met…
Support (Story #618)
Community get together
Lack of support
Family fueds
Belle Glade should be a better city
I wish the community was better. They need to get more resources. More places for people to go. Not much is in Belle Glade to do and enjoy. You can make a living in Belle Glade. I moved from Georgia in 2001. I liked Georgia better because it was cheaper. But I still like it here. A young boy got killed back in 2016. He was running and the police shot him 3-4 times. We need more enforcement here in Belle Glade, because that’s not supposed to happen. The officer is still in the force. The force used to be…
La familia
Every Christmas is a good Christmas in Boynton. Later in the evening everybody in the neighborhood is dressed up and goes to the Hester center. The kids love going the get to show off what they got an have a good time. The good thing about this is nobody gets upset because if one person I the community got everybody does. We are a family.
Rehab-Devonte white
Getting off drugs changed my life. I was on drugs bad and i had to realize who i was. I went to rehab to get my life together and things been good ever sense.
Long time ago- laroderick
When I joined my high school cheerleading team and I realized that the coach for my high school cheerleading team was the same coach I had when I was in delray Rocks cheerleading team of someone was to think about that noticing how small and connected Delray Beach is that we could I could be on different cheerleading teams at two different money’s in my life and have the same exact coach till this day I am 23 and still connected to that coach I am the god mother of her daughter
The Neighborhood Full of Crime
There has been many fights for many years, Loud rowdy fights. The police is constantly coming to our neighborhood to break a fight up or arrest someone for a crime. It’s been like this for years and it should honestly stop. My grandson was recently arrested because he was linked to a shooting. It needs to change and I hope and pray one day it does.
B-out day
B-out day, where there was a local football player who threw a event for the community there were bounce houses food and live music all across from the set
Overturn of Florida- Kene
For my community, and the community it self in Delray, it still has a boundary. Basically, Delray is for Delray. For the community wise I don’t feel Delray does anything for the community. We have a community here in Delray, but not that much aid in it. I feel the city more or less focuses on the east rich side of the community, but not the poor west side. Just doesn’t make sense. Business corporates are pushing us for their construction projects. Back then when I was being raised Delray used to be as far as Boca, but history never…
Buying a house- Devonte white
Important moment in my life was buying a house. I saved all my money and worked two jobs to get my own house. I did not want to live with my mom anymore
All is well
Growing up in my neighborhood wasn’t actually bad all the time., I mean things did happen but there was also some good things going on. I lived in a house with all my brothers and they always looked out for me.
Don’t do nothing
Growing up in boynton wasn’t always the best we didn’t have the school we wanted we was in and out of Trouble my brother and I Was Trouble makers
Much Better
Better to live here from where I lived. Better opportunities in the community.
Finally Home
The important moment was when I moved here 2010 from WPB. I was homeless. I had income but it was not enough to find somewhere to live. I was living with several peopele in a room but it didn’t work out and I was kicked out. So then I went to another place, paid my rent and then 3 days he lights went out. And the place was in debt and it was freezing cold and no electricity. I was so distraught, asking my lord to take me. And then I read a newsletter, call and spoke with a woman…
Family
I used to work in the local corner store. People were also nice to me. We were like family. I would see the same people everyday and we would bond in the course of 5 minutes of them being there.
My brothers -Devonte white
Coming up i had a lot of brothers so i can say they was important to me. They protected me and always made sure i was straight. I don’t really know where i would be without them.
Change for the better (Story #457)
An important moment in my life is when my son graduated. He used to always be in trouble and up to no good. By him graduated it shows that people can change and that Boynton is not all bad.
Living Dreams Through Nightmares
It’ll usually be 5:30 I’m at McDonald’s with my coffee, lab top, and WiFi. It’s a lot of sunshine because I’m on the good side 7:30. Then I start walking to the dark side where you usually see red and yellow tape, blue and red lights. Shaking hands with the good fellows with a smile but also with their hand behind their back having a knife. I hang out talking about sports and life then go to football practice and see bright lights.
Good of bad
Growing up in Boynton Beach my family and i were close he had a nice relationship because my grandma would never allow anything else we stuck together and it was all love. We lived on “the hill” and there was a lot going on fighting. Violence. But there was also good times.
Getting My House Back
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.
Dreams-Rickia
I grew up in very negative environment. My father drank a lot and took it out on my mother. I remember telling myself at a very young age that I would marry a man that loved me and my family, I would have a healthy environment for my family and we would enjoy life to the fullest and I created that and more
Humble Servant
Bring able to come back and give back to the community. Doing stuff for those who gave to me as a kid.
Love. Your mom
Well growing up was pretty hard for me my mom didn’t always have the bills paid on time didn’t always Keep a house but. One I got really tired of it and started doing things I regret instead of waiting for her to get right and me getting a job
Sports (Story #181)
Playing sports was a important moment in my life.It kept me off the streets and focused on something. Most of my friends was in the streets and now they dead or in jail .
Life is the way it is
Well I don’t have much to share my neighborhood wasn’t all bad and good you can say people may have got shot may have got into fights I was always that girl that got into fights
Don’t judge a book by its cover
A very secluded family lived across the street from me my entire childhood and we barely spoke or interacted. I left for college and after returned to live with my parents. I notice one day a very nerdy looking young lady coming back and forth and decided to approach her. Well, she ended up being the love of my life and we are still together. I’m glad I fell in love with her and not her appearance.
Get some action going in Pahokee, FL!
From experience coming from New York to here, you have more help up there. It’s harder to find resources down here. I was in a bad relationship last year that left me homeless. There are no shelters around here. Now I am better but at the time I had no where to go. I saw a guy walking out of an empty building and was wondering what he was doing in there. People were sleeping in empty buildings. I’ve had a lot of good experiences too. A lot of mission teams came and helped people fix up their houses and…
The support is real
There was a bad car accident in Boynton were the driver died. People were so supportive of the family of the person who passed. My community is so nice.
Don’t Have Nothing
Gang Violence
Growing Up Without Parents
Losing a mother and being raised by an aunt. This ensured that I had to over come obstacles and pave a way for myself and siblings to get through life.
Met my soulmate
When I moved down here from North Carolina I was quite scared. My neighbor was very welcoming. She would always check on me and helped arrange my house. Now 10 years later were married with a child. Maybe I should’ve just moved down here way before then.
Never stop searching for answers
I don’t know if this has anything to do with my neighborhood but when I was young I had a lot of questions and not enough answers. I wanted to know why this group of people got so much, when I had so little. Why they could go to college and I couldn’t. I didn’t except what people told me and I searched for answers myself. I ended up with a scholarship to college and different outlook on life
Community get together (Story #612)
Afro Arts
Growing up in Boynton Beach (Story #417)
Growing up in Boynton Beach it was tough because segregation was hectic!
Haiti Family
I grew up projects in belle glade the neighborhood was very nice. They will help out anytime if you need it, friends will help the best way they can. And what I love most about belle glade is they would cook food for anyone that is starving. My part of town in belle glade was very helpful its like having a family.
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