December 2017, marks the one year anniversary of I Used To Live Here.  In this time, the project has grown and evolved to include surrounding narratives of displacement and gentrification of black and brown people. The phrase, I Used To Live Here, has become an outcry used when discussing refugee crises and the broader problem of erasure of our communities world wide.  In the second edition, we have added dialogue and layouts that bring the story closer to home and the communities we are discussing.  

We secure safe zones to preserve our stories.

Perceptions are sometimes illusions and appearances are not always what they seem. Our lives move within layered dimensions of hopes and dreams, private places, and hidden stories. This book is about a collective space that used to be my home. The research goes back in time in order to understand the present chaos of memory, loss, and mishap. Through interviews and gathered evidence we examine the nuances surrounding religion, community, and home.