Daily Inspiration: Meet Sean Bryant

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sean Bryant.

Hi Sean, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I am writing this on my 55th birthday! My story is long but full of miracles. I knew who I was at a very young age, but I spent the first 53 years of my life living as Susan, a significant part of me, but not my most authentic expression. My first girlfriend outed me to my mother as she was leaving, not to be hurtful, but to help my mother understand why she was leaving, even though she loved me. The following is not uncommon:

My mother, as much as she loved me, was unable to respond positively. She asked me not to tell my father, a renowned pastor, because she thought it would break his heart. She also asked me not to tell my brother because she felt he would not accept me. I was lost and alone.

I became involved with an alcoholic who was nearly 20 years my senior and left the relationship a year later at gunpoint with nowhere to go, but no turning back. My most important memory at this time was of my friend Neita, who said directly to me, “I know you don’t believe this at this moment, but YOU WILL BE OK. You will grow and become.” I went to my parents, and they allowed me to live with my brother, who at the time was in active addiction, in a run-down house in a less than desirable part of the city.

I had been volunteering with a local HIV+ agency in town doing support groups and helping the community, and I got a job starting social services for the HIV+ community and found my love for advocacy. Although we lost many (there was still no good treatment in 1994), the experience changed me. In 1996, I returned to school at the University of Tennessee to get my MSSW degree. Fast forward 21 years or so. I have a wife of 15 years, a successful career, three beautiful children, and the return of my mother who lived with us for 8 years before her death at age 91 in November of 2017. On January 23, 2019, a little more than a year after her death, I realized that I had been living a less than authentic life. I awoke in a hotel room and wrote a poem entitled “The Other Person”.

I knew that I needed to live a more authentic life. The name Sean also came by dream a number of months later, and I began to transition at the beginning of the pandemic. I wondered what would happen if I just stopped shaving after 30 years. My little beard appeared, and I suddenly felt like myself in a way I never had. It opened my eyes to a life I had only dreamed of since childhood. While my wife and I are divorcing after nearly 20 years, she stood by me through the changes and supported my becoming. I live with great appreciation for that.

“Bryant’s Bridge” also appeared in the form of a dream in early 2020. I had the concept and worked with colleagues and friends to develop the structure. The history is important because the concept came directly from my own experience. At my mother’s funeral, all of my friends were suddenly together. I had a realization that my mother had been there for all of them when their families were not able to support their coming out. I realized that, although she could not do that for me in my time, she had done it for so many. She stood in the gap.

There is so often a gap, where young people come out to their families and cannot receive acceptance at that time. Families often come back around to acceptance and love, but the gap is a real issue. This is a critical time for our youth because the trauma of abandonment can lead to unhealthy habits, addiction, sexual exploitation, and suicidal thoughts or behavior. So many give up or adopt destructive lifestyles during this time if there is no one to stand in the gap.

I have started Bryant’s Bridge to stand in the gap, to honor my mother and Neita, who stood in my gap to let me know that this was not the end and that I would one day be OK. I am OK. But it does not have to be a 35-year journey! Many in our community understand this because we were not supported in the best way.

I want us to be the change that we seek in the world, to live authentic lives, and to really support each other and young people who are still in this position of walking the road alone without the support that they need to become all that they are meant to be. This is what “Bryant’s Bridge” is all about. I loved my mother, and she was a strong, loving, and wonderful woman. She lived her truth, but even she needed someone to stand in my gap. So here we are. Standing in the gap.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I believe my story has listed most of my struggles. They are many. the path to establishing Bryant’s Bridge has been remarkably miraculous. I feel as though everyone I have met and interacted with, especially our board, has been a part of my life for this very reason, to this end.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I have had a career in social work for 30 years.

I have worked in the areas of domestic violence, youth, and teen rehabilitation, home health and hospice, HIV/AIDS case management, therapeutic foster care as a clinician and trainer, and for 12 years in an elementary school as part of an education reform initiative. I have worked with all ages, races, ethnicities, genders, members of the military, and just about any marginalized population you can imagine. I have done individual and group therapy, organizational leadership development, advocacy, and community change.

I recruited students for the College of Social Work at the University of Tennessee for 8 years before becoming a field education specialist who supervises students full-time in agencies where social workers are not present. I am a certified Acceptance and Integration Training (AAIT) practitioner, a life coach for those wishing to develop personally and spiritually at a higher level.

I am the CEO and founder of Bryant’s Bridge Inc, a transition home for LGBTQ+ youth who are experiencing homelessness.

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
There is a great need for housing young adults in Knoxville.

Affordable housing is a crisis at the current time. We intend to build the network of transition homes to encompass all youth in Knoxville over the next 5-10 years, as our efforts in this area are sorely lacking. The numbers of homeless youth compared to the number we are housing is dismal. Our city desperately needs the service we are providing. We have partners and supporters who are committed to this aim.

I hope that the need for our services declines in the next 5-10 years, but I do not see this happening, as affordable housing remains an issue at large.

Pricing:

• Our model includes a maximum of $300 for rent and utilities per month for our residents. We are an affordable housing model.

Contact Info:

• Email: bryantsbridge@gmail.com
• Website: https://www.bryantsbridge.org
• Instagram: @bryantsbridge
• Facebook: Bryant’s Bridge Inc
• TikTok: @bryantsbridge0

Image Credits
Sharon McNutt