So far this year, at least two members of the transgender community have been murdered in Houston, according to the Montrose Center.
In the United States, From 2017 to 2021, there was a 93% increase in incidents of tracked transgender homicide (from 29 incidents in 2017 to 56 incidents in 2021).
Notably, these transgender murder statistics don’t indicate the motives behind the murders, a murkier statistical endeavor.
“People don’t see us as something normal” Daron Yanes, a Program Coordinator at Houston-based OLTT, said.
Organización Latina Trans in Texas is dedicated to ensuring, protecting, and defending the human rights of all trans, gender-nonconforming, and LGBTQIA+ people in Texas, according to their website.
In practice, the organization focuses on helping people from all walks of life deal with discrimination, report violence, and in some cases, house trans individuals who have no place to go.
“We’re being attacked on so many fronts, it’s hard to pick just one. But, living in texas, if it’s not one thing it’s another,” Gia Pacheco, Director of the organization’s name change and gender marker change program, said.
Pacheco said that members of the transgender community who are able to legally change their name and gender marker clear a significant hurdle in identification card issues while traveling and conducting official business.
Both OLTT and the Montrose Center provide a safe, welcoming space where transgender people can connect with peers and gender-affirming resources.
November 13 - November 19 marks Transgender Awareness Week
Saturday, November 20 marks Transgender Remembrance Day
