I Think I’ll Stay Awhile…

I Almost Left Henderson, Until I Found Henderson KY Pride

I am not a native to Henderson, and I first moved to Henderson in the Autumn of 2011, when I first transitioned from male to female. I knew only a handful of people in town, maybe 4 or 5 people, and tried as best I could to stay as stealth as possible. Unfortunately, I was outed shortly after I moved into town and faced discrimination in that Winter of that year. At that time, there were no resources in Henderson, and I was threatened with losing my job with the county because I was transgender. In fact, my department head (who usually never got involved in the interview process) decided to get involved in the interview and had said “I don’t agree with your lifestyle, but due to the Governor’s Executive Order, you are qualified, and I have to hire you”. They later found a technicality to get rid of me before I ever got out of training, despite having close to 20 years of experience. I stayed in Henderson, working several other jobs over the next few years, some good, some mediocre, staying as stealth as possible, but due to circumstances that were beyond my control, I moved out of Henderson in the Summer of 2015 and returned in 2020.

When I came back, I still encountered what I perceived as a lack of community, and resources. I did have a few friends here, and I decided to give Henderson one more chance. Options to leave Henderson were presented to me over the years, to go to Owensboro, to return to Minnesota where I stayed from 2015 to 2020, to return to Rhode Island where I had grown up, but then I heard that an organization called Henderson Kentucky Pride had been formed and had had their first Pride Festival. That piqued my interest. I found their website and Facebook page and started following them and receiving their e-mails. Later, I found out about a weekly meetup that Henderson Kentucky Pride hosted called the Weekly Pour, and started attending, finding a sense of community that I had been looking for. They host events for not just the transgender community, but the youth, those battling substance abuse, and others. They are a resource for the entire community.

I think I’ll stay a while.

Submitted Anonymously