BELLOWS FALLS — From Nov. 13 to 19, organizations around the country will participate in Transgender Awareness Week to help raise visibility about nonbinary and transgender people.
The Transgender Day of Remembrance, which began in 1999, is observed annually on Nov. 20 to memorialize transgender individuals who have experienced violence and hate crimes because of their gender identity. The day is intended to draw attention to the discrimination and prejudice that transgender people face.
Bellows Falls Pride added a glossary provided by GLADD, a nonprofit organization focused on LGBTQ advocacy and cultural change, whose website states: "In order to understand many of the terms used by transgender and nonbinary people, it is necessary to understand the difference between sex at birth, gender identity, and gender expression - and how those three things are not the same as sexual orientation." Visit bellowsfallspride.com to view the glossary.
In the United States, 2.6 million people, or 1% of the population, identified as transgender as of July. Data from the Trevor Project, a nonprofit that supports LGBTQ youth, indicates:
• 45% of LGBTQ youth considered attempting suicide in the past year. That totals 1 in 5 transgender and nonbinary youth, with youth of color reporting higher rates than their white peers.
• Fewer than 1 in 3 transgender and nonbinary youth found their home to be gender-affirming.
• LGBTQ youth who found their school to be affirming reported lower suicide attempts.
• 60% of LGBTQ youth who wanted mental health care were unable to receive it.
• LGBTQ youth who live in a community that is accepting of LGBTQ people reported significantly lower rates of suicide attempts than those who do not.
What can one do to offer support? Bellows Falls Pride suggests that you "educate yourself, understand the challenges faced by trans and nonbinary people, speak up against discrimination and bullying, and provide support to youth at home, in school, and the community."
Bellows Falls Pride is a program of the Rockingham Arts & Museum Project (RAMP), a nonprofit organization founded in 1997 with a mission of integrating arts and public interest. To support the work of Bellows Falls Pride, donations can be made at ramp-vt.org. For more information, visit bellowsfallspride.com, or email bellowsfallspride@gmail.com.
This Town and Village item was submitted to The Commons.