Audrey Dilling

The number of children in the city of San Francisco is dwindling. Back in the 1960s, kids made up a full quarter of the population. The latest census numbers showed the city was made up by only 13.4 percent of them. But now, after a concerted effort by City Hall, there’s been a dramatic change.

A note for our readers: the following story is of an adult nature.

At KALW, we believe that telling the story of a city means telling the stories of the people who live there. That’s what our community storytelling project Hear Here has been doing in San Francisco and Oakland – and now they want to get to know the places that make these cities what they are by asking a simple question:

What’s a place in your neighborhood that means something to you – and why?

The Hear Here mobile story tunnel is coming to Hear Here Live this Saturday at 5pm at Public Works in the Mission. The story tunnel features the photos of people who have contributed their story to the Hear Here project, along with a special link to their audio stories. Just a simple swipe of a smartphone will let you listen on the spot to the diverse and touching stories Hear Here has collected and produced so far. Think of it like an art gallery for sound!

Our Hear Here team has been interviewing people in libraries throughout San Francisco and Oakland about their lives and memories. Now they want to know about the places that make those memories what they are. They’re asking a simple question: what’s a place in your neighborhood that matters to you, and why?

Finding food can be hard for some families in the Bay Area. The producers of Hear Here, KALW’s community storytelling project, paid a visit to Oakland’s Laurel Elementary School during a monthly food distribution service for Laurel families. Hear Here producer Audrey Dilling spoke with Laurel Elementary Principal John Stangl about the challenges his students have getting enough to eat – a challenge he experienced firsthand as a child.