"Love brings happiness. What makes you happy is what you love. You love playing corn hole, you're happy doing it. You love making money, you're happy making it. You know what I'm saying? Do what you love. 

Stay focused. People always say that you can do whatever you want to do and be whatever you want to be. It sounds so far fetch that you don't realize that you actually can do and be that. Whatever you take the time out to do, work towards it and stay focused on whatever you're trying to do, you're gonna do it. " - Larry, Russell

"It's all up to you to keep a smile on your face. Point. Blank. Period. Its all in maintaining and knowing yourself. That comes along with happiness. Everybody finds happiness in many different ways, though. Happiness can come in many different ways. Happiness for myself is like, I like to come out here and see this all the time and then I go over here and I'm always happy. Happiness is whatever pleases you. You have to know that. It takes knowing yourself to know what brings you happiness." - Fonzo Fee, Russell

"I finna go play ball in a little bit. All that shooting out here, earlier, kind of really disturbed me. You know? I just really wanna have him safe somewhere. It really ain't safe no where, I wanted to him somewhere, where he can really enjoy himself. I walked from 28th. It's a good walk. 

My proudest moment of being a dad is being able to spend time with him and teach him stuff. I want him to see the right atmosphere of life and not going out here thinking it's about selling stuff to get by. I want to keep him motivated, as far as the sports that he likes to do. That's my boy, right here. I got two others and a daughter, but this is the one that wanted to be with me. So, I'm tending to his needs and whatever he wants. 

See, where I'm from, they used to have culinary arts. He was working and they would let them cook and show them how to cook and pay them every Friday. It was some different stuff that he was used to doing there, than here. Truth of the matter, we getting ready to get back up out of here. You know, he's not feeling it. If he's not happy, ain't no need in being here. If he's not going to be happy, I'm not going to stay. I have to make sure that my son's happy, that's the key. I like it here because of the jobs they have. But walking from everywhere, is the problem. I'm walking all over. I done walked the whole West. This is the farthest I've walked to this side. I done walked from the hospital to 28th. That's about thirty blocks. Whew! I was just telling him that. So, I done been all around through the West. I'm walking to Labor Works or whatever tomorrow. That's on 15th and Broadway. I'm trying to keep some money going, every day. You know, take care of things to get him straight and then we back up out of here. It's cool. I like Louisville, but they just doing a lot of killing, which is what they do back where I'm from. It's just that I'm not with the atmosphere around here. I'm not familiar with the atmosphere. I don't know the people. I gotta keep my eyes open more than I have to. 

I can get a job. A lot of places want me, it's just getting there. I just can't get there. What's the use of taking a job and I can't get there? His safety is my main concern. When he gets out of school, I'm looking to rush to my son. Now, I got him in the Boys and Girls Club and he plays basketball for this school. He got his first game coming up. He still doesn't like it here because there's nothing for kids to do in the West. That's a challenge. He's used to going to a community center and the race tracks, back where we're from. They need that YMCA down here. They need a movie theater down here, too! They need stuff for these kids to do."John & John Jr., Shawnee

"One of the things that I like about the West End is that when people come together, in a really strong way, they really come together. I see a lot of good people trying to do a lot of good things. They're trying to make this community what it once was, like flourishing like it was. I see that uprising in this community, in the people trying to take back what is rightfully theirs and take pride in where they're from. That's what I like about the West End. 

Be persistent and be consistent. Have intention in everything you do. Never stray from what you truly know what's best for you. - Dave, Chickasaw

"I've been living here for 30 years. One thing I've noticed within the last couple of years is that they're starting to redevelop in this area, which is a good thing. From what I hear, the president and CEO of Brown Forman Distillery is wanting to build Portland up like it used to be, years ago. They're starting with a few houses on the end. They've completely remodeled them. A new business has opened up down there. I think what it is, is that they want to rebuild a little at a time, to see how it's going to work. They don't want to just 'boom' and invest all this money and then turn around and it'd be a failure. I can understand that. I think they're headed in the right direction. Like any other place, we've got a real bad drug problem, here. Real bad. It's everywhere, man. It's here. Maybe someday they'll get that under control. They've been fighting drugs for the last forty something years. Even back in the 1960's, when I was a teenager, they were fighting it. I think that if they really wanted to end it, they could. It makes you wonder sometimes. The government... I don't know how much you trust the government, but the government does what the government wants to do. I think they can get control of it, but like I said, they can do something if it gets serious enough. But yeah, they're starting to rebuild and build some new houses around here. Get the right people in these houses. Get some decent, hard working people that'll take care of them. The general rule is that if you own a home, you'll take better care of it, than if you rent it. A lot of people got the attitude, that I've seen around here, that are renting and will not take care of their home. You get good people in, you've got a good neighborhood." -Don, Portland

"A long time dream of mine is being a zoologist and having my own Animal Planet show. I love animals, man. I start college in January, so I'll be working towards that. My Grandma keeps animals and stuff. She used to sit me down and read animals books and would take me to the zoo and shit like that. Now, I'm getting into it and going to school for it. 

One of my happiest moments is when I was in the hospital with my Grandma. They were doing some type of surgery on her. The doctors came out and said that she probably wasn't going to make it. After 2 days, I gotta phone call and they said that she made it through the surgery. I was overwhelmed. I was really happy. There was nothing else that could have made me happier than that. I don't know what I would've done if she would have died. So, I'm happy she survived and stuff like that. I'm taking care of her. I work, now, so I can take of her." - Ernest, Parkland

"I'm actually a barber by trade. So, owning my own chain of barber shops would be a dream of mine. You know, eventually not working in them but just dropping by and checking on them, getting my money, or stepping in, if needed. I'm gonna take my state board test and once I do that, I'll be able to get into the motion for all that." - Monsta, Portland

"I got shot by someone who was supposed to be my best friend when I was 19. He tried to rob me and shit. I'm from Tennessee. I moved here to start over. I was in a cast and couldn't really stand for over a year. My doctor told me that I would never walk again. I don't really walk, I hobble. You know, I get where I need to go. Only he [points up] know. 

I practice tattooing. Hopefully, I can get real good and open up my own shop one day. It's a new generation, so everybody wants to get tatted. Look at this tattoo, bruh. It says, 'Never Give Up'. No matter how bad my life has been, I never gave up. You can never give up. It's a struggle. He (Monsta) knows. He had to help me out the bathtub, this morning. That's my homie, my best friend.

God has a purpose for me. Maybe, I can touch somebody and inspire them, you know?" - Snoop, Portland

"Listen to other people. Too many people, here, think they know everything. We have a lot to learn from other people, especially with empathy. I think it's the first step in coming together and understanding somebody else. I try to build my relationships that way. Especially, with the work that I'm getting into, as a counselor, it's really important for me to step into the world or somebody else. I can't help them until I can understand their world. 

I've worked for a long time, with students. I've had good training along the way but I kind of hit that point where I needed that extra degree, to be qualified to do the higher level work that I want to do." - Dave, Parkland

"The world's crazy. It's a lot of violence going on. Everybody just needs to get along. That's something that nobody knows how to do, anymore. They think guns is the answer for all their problems, but it's not. I gotta 16 year old and it's a lot of parents who don't have their kids at that age, right now. So, I'm blessed, right now, to have mine, still. Everybody just needs to get along with each other. Everybody's mad at each other and friends turning on friends. At this time, people have no friends. You gotta start within yourself, first. If not, where you gonna start at? 

You wonder why these kids don't have guidance? There's nothing for these kids to do, no more. So, since there's nothing for them to do, they turn to the streets and they feel like the streets love them more than home. The streets are either gonna see you dead, hurt, or in jail. It ain't no resources for these kids. They're taking everything. The struggle's real. No matter how much money you got, you still struggle. 

I'd like to see a lot of people's kids move forward, but at the end of the day, they gotta put these guns down." - Ebony & Lil Tony, Russell

"I wish there was more love than hate. The devil is really out here, man. You gotta watch his ass. If you see him, push his ass back. [Points up] Take that man, first. He's number one always in my heart, you know. I might not go to church, like I should, but I love the man. I've been asking him to do something for me. He work in mysterious ways. Look what he bring to me. I'm getting ready to go to the game tomorrow night and I need some money, you know what I'm sayin? Aye, he's good, man. Best man on earth. 

Shit, a long time dream that I had was to make it to the NBA but I messed up, man. I played ball, but I didn't go to school. I didn't want to go to school. You gotta go to school to get to college. I should go back to get my GED. It's never too late, bruh." - Rodney, Russell

"We met at the grocery store 12 years ago. Yeah, we met at Melton Food Mart, off Dixie Highway. I was selling body oil and asked him if he wore cologne. He said yeah and I sold him 4 bottles. Then he invited me to dinner and when I got his house, he didn't cook anything! Twelve years strong and never had a fight. My advice to younger couples is to be honest, don't lie, and be real about everything. Be in each other's corner. If you can't trust each other, ain't no need in being with each other. 

I'm the bitcher. I bitch at him all the time. He's more laid back. When I get to bitchin, he just walks out of the room. That's what he do. That's why we don't fight and argue and stuff. He don't pay me no attention. I be steady fussin." Rochelle & Larry, Parkland

"Take a chance to learn exactly what people go through before you judge them. Get close to somebody you don't know. Meet someone who is of a different gender, age, that comes from a different place. Y'all can come together and learn each other's differences. 

If I could do anything for the West, it would be exactly what they're doing right here, building houses and putting people in them. Everybody needs a chance to start over. If they're messed up, let them start over. Get them in a house, get them a job, give them a new start. It's too much space, too much land, too many empty houses, for people to be running around here with no where to stay. There's too many jobs, put them in a position. They'll put us in jail quick. Put us in a job, quick. Put us in a house, quick." - K.I., Russell

"My dad has been my biggest influence, all of my life. My mom passed at an early age and I was just a child. He raised 10 kids by himself, while still working. I put him on a pedestal. My mom passed when I was 7 years old and I'm the sixth child. He taught me to go out and get my own and never depend on anyone, just like he did. He was a self-employed, on the road truck driver. " - Pat, Russell

"The happiest moment of our relationship is when he proposed to me at the Tech N9ne concert." - Sara & Danny, Portland 

"It's grind! Don't ever sleep! Aye, I come from these streets, straight from nothing. I came straight from the streets. I had to bust my ass. My kids inspire me.  White people's kids are inheriting stuff. I want my kids to inherit stuff when I leave here. I done worked hard, I done struggled ever since I had kids. When I leave here, this is my kids. I bust my ass to make sure that it's here, until I leave here. This is theirs. They'll have something to fall back on and I mean that. My kids inspire everything in me. That's my whole goal of getting something, is them. I do whatever I gotta do to survive, to make sure they're okay, whatever it is. I done everything. I done hustled, I did everything.

Save your money. If you save $20 a day, it will add up to something. You got to save your money and you've got to work hard and never give up, to get you something. I tell all my lil cousins that when we was young, there wasn't no entrepreneurs. Nowadays, it's like everybody is doing something. Everybody's selling something. Whether they're selling strawberries, they're selling cookies, they are selling everything. You'd be surprised with just the little things that you know how to do. Take it and run with it and step out on faith. You can come up with something. People have been putting everything that they know how to do to work. You just gotta step out on faith and keep up with it. Dreams can come true. I got the first black owned hair store." - Ms. Bad, Dot, & Dre

"My grandmother spoiled me and I've always been spoiled. I told her that when I got older, I was going to take care of her and I did. She lived to be 90 years old. That's the type of person I am. I enjoy people, any kind. My grandmother was 80% Indian and 6'1. She was tall and the first person I knew that had a black and white afro. She taught me a lot of knowledge, a lot of knowledge. I used to come home and tell her that one of my friends didn't treat me right and she would tell me to handle them with a long handled spoon. That would mean to be close but not too close. You know, keep em' at a distance. She had ways of saying things. And then she used to tell me to get my own and it would always be mine. That means don't be borrowing, go on and get your own. I mean, I lived by what she told me and I accomplished what she told me. I did it. That's how I got well known in the music industry. I worked and I couldn't be bought. You don't go for the love of money. You go for the love of your word, your bond, and your respect. You earn your respect and you keep your respect. That's what I did all my life." Ms. Lee, Owner of Better Days West, Parkland

"I'm grateful for life. Life, by itself. You know what I'm sayin? A lot of people get lost in the sauce and don't realize how precious life is. Man, you know? Everything can be taken away from us, with the quickness. You know, you just gotta be grateful for it. That's pretty much it, man. I'm simple. Enjoy the little things. Pay attention to detail. Don't be caught up in what's new and the latest fad. Be grateful. You know what I'm sayin? We can be gone tomorrow, you never know." - Terrell, Portland

"The happiest moment in my life is when I surrendered and gave my life to Christ. You know, when I surrendered, not born again, I repented and gave my life to Christ. That is the happiest moment of my life. I had to turn away from the bad things and the wicked sins of the world. It was taking me down, down, down, down. So, God spoke to me and took it away, man. It's good, too. - Rowland, Russell

"See, I did 30 years in prison, ya feel me? And I'm out here standing, right now, everyday. Hard work! And I'm never going back to that. Neva eva! And I ain't never took a life. I ain't never took a life. I wanted to be somebody that was never supposed to be. I was living a life that wasn't for me. This is my life, I'm free. Who wants to live a life, that you know, could cage you up like an animal? That's how I look at it, now. I'm so blessed, bruh! Pick up what I'm puttin' down. I gotta beautiful home and a loving woman. I'm sitting here, now, because she's doing somebody's hair, right now. She works but does hair on the side. And I work. I gotta job, full-time. And they love me. Them white folks love me on my job. If I tell them that you needed a job, I'd call them and tell them that you need a job. I'd start you off at $11.50 an hour. When I come and I'm 57 years old and work hard, I'd put a young motherfucker to bed. You know where I get that from? My mama. She's 77 and she'll put me to bed. She'll work harder than me. She worked 42 years in a factory. She worked 42 years at GE. 

First of all, you've got to say to yourself and nobody else, is this what you really want? Work on you. I'ma tell you something, bruh. The first time I went to prison, it was for a year. It was a walk in the park. The second time was for a few more years and another walk in the park. When they sat me down for 14 years and another 11, straight, I wanted to find a tool to set myself free. The whole time, I was the tool. I was trying to find something to make me better, but the only one to make me better was me. It was like, I'm free from the madness. Bruh, it's so much of a blessing for me to be out here, right now. I'm sitting here, chillin. This ain't my neighborhood. My girl's down the street, I live up on the Parkway. I'm just walking my dog. I ain't bothering nobody. I ran into my man. He said he gotta dog. I don't even know this brotha and he's alright. We just sittin over here, kickin it. He wants to take care of his dog and I'm just trying to tell him how to do it. We good and then you step up, bam! We're having a moment. We havin church! We havin a hell of a moment! 

Be the best you can be and work hard at it. Don't ever give up on life. The struggle's real, we know that. Let's keep it real. When I'm blessed with another day, I'm happiest. I'm cool with it. I don't care how rough it gets." - Red, Portland

"The thing I'm most grateful for is life. Being able to just enjoy life, in general. Whether it's a good life or a bad life, it's a blessing. God's grace is amazing. 

Finishing college is my happiest moment. It took me a while. I was in school for 11 years. But you know, it's one of those things you start and you change your mind a lot and you enjoy college a little too much. Finally finishing was great. As soon as I graduated, the job market was really bad and I ended up not using my degree, at all. It is what it is. It's a struggle everyday to try to find what you want to do in life & your purpose in life is. One day at a time, you know? 

The community gets a bad rap a lot of the times. But once you're out here and see what people deal with on a regular basis, all of that melts away. People that live out here are just normal people. Some people may just be down on their luck but they're just normal people. I mean, you see a lot of the same faces, so you get to know a lot of people. So, it's pretty cool out here, man. My experience, here, isn't a bad experience at all. Yeah, there are moments but there's moments everywhere. " - Taylor, Portalnd

"You can put me in the album, but I ain't got nothing to say. If I had to say something... I love Jesus!" - Ol' Cool, Shawnee