Sweet Evening Breeze: Honoring the legacy, paving a path and sending a message

“As long as you live in this house, you’re going to act a certain way. I don’t want you embarrassing me.” The words change as they echo from parents’ mouths but the feeling is universal for children who hear them: you are not welcome.

Children like Robyn, who was fourteen years old when she came out as bisexual. “[I] immediately faced adversity from my parents,” she recalled. A vulnerable young teen working to understand her identity, Robyn was forced out of her childhood home in a small working-class city outside of the Louisville metro. After weeks away from home, her parents allowed her to return. “There were some rules,” she said, describing how they regulated her identity and ability to express herself.

By the time she turned 18, Robyn was able to spread her wings and move out. As many queer youth do, she set her eyes on the nearest big city. She found a job in the food industry, moved into a small apartment with her high school sweetheart and, finally, she was able to live freely and in her own skin.

Then, the pandemic hit. On May 16 2020, Governor Beshear announced the closure of all in-person dining at bars and restaurants. Robyn lost her job, suffered from declining mental health as she worked to further understand her gender identity as a trans person and separated from her high school sweetheart.

Over the next few years, Robyn described herself as underemployed. She took on new jobs to pay the bills but fell further and further behind until she found Sweet Evening Breeze. The affirming resource center for LGBTQ+ young adults offered Robyn a safe space, financial support and counseling services to bring a sense of security back into her life.

Honoring the legacy

The Sweet Evening Breeze we know today is the namesake of a gender-non-conforming healthcare hero who carved out a space for queer representation and inclusion in Lexington, Kentucky in the early 1900s.

Born to the nam

e James Herdon, “Sweets” served as head orderly at Good Samaritan Hospital, when she wasn’t strutting the streets in her drag. She shepherded generations of LGBTQ+ youth and fiercely protected them. You can read more about Sweet Evening Breeze in Queer Kentucky’s article on her lasting legacy.

“She was really doing it,” Stuart Walker said. The program manager for Sweet Evening Breeze prioritizes creating an accessible and comfortable environment for LGBTQ+ young adults experiencing homelessness in Louisville.

Walker and his team at Sweet Evening Breeze said Sweets’ hospitality and compassion for others inspired their vision to provide housing and housing assistance to LGBTQ+ people who are between the ages of 18 and 24.

Housing assistance typically comes in the form of emergency housing, Walker said. “We can put them up in a hotel for a week or so to get them back up on their feet so that they can catch their appointments.” Folks are able to see case managers and therapists through Sweet Evening Breeze, get IDs, and cover their other needs.

Paving a path

In April of 2024, Sweet Evening Breeze opened Kentucky’s only transitional housing for LGBTQ+ young adults. The four-unit facility named Trager House, offers a soft place to land for 3-12 months depending on the goals of the folks who live there.

“As soon as I got through the door, I just cried with relief, literally just broke down and sobbed from this weight that was lifted off of me,” Robyn said. She is the first resident at Trager House. “And it’s given me the space to re-approach employment…and also having the support system of fellow queer people who understand the unique challenges that I face has been hugely instrumental and comforting.”

Trager house has given Robyn the space and support she needed to pave her own path as a trans woman. “It’s almost like going through a second puberty, you know, you’re finding and figuring yourself out, figuring out what clothes fit and what looks good on you, and what you like to wear and how you want to relate to other people and see yourself into the world,” she said.

Having queer and trans people who are supporting her and pushing her to achieve her goals has made a defining difference for Robyn. She said, “Sweet evening Breeze is like a second family.”

The additional three units at Trager House have already been filled since April, and Sweet Evening Breeze is already looking forward to a larger space.

This first space is a sort-of trial run for transitional housing at Sweet Evening Breeze. The Trager Foundation is providing the rental space for 2 years. Program Manager Stuart Walker said their end goal is to have a large facility where they can offer transitional housing to 15-20 people at a time.

Sending a message

As the Kentucky legislature passes restrictive laws and limits the rights of queer and trans children, Sweet Evening Breeze’s investment in supporting LGBTQ+ young adults offers needed resources while establishing a more supportive narrative for queer and trans people in the Commonwealth.

“This puts Louisville on the map as a welcoming place for people around the world,” Philanthropist Brett Trager said. He explained that Trager House is one of only ten resources in the country that offer transitional housing to LGBTQ+ young adults, and it helps to put Louisville on the map as an inclusive city. “Sweet evening Breeze is filling that gap and showing America how much of a welcoming community we are.”

If you’re looking for support or would like to donate to Sweet Evening Breeze, you can visit the website sweeteveningbreeze.org.