A candlelight vigil takes place at the W.E. Trans Support Centre in Windsor, November 20, 2019. Photo by Mark Brown/Blackburn News.A candlelight vigil takes place at the W.E. Trans Support Centre in Windsor, November 20, 2019. Photo by Mark Brown/Blackburn News.
Windsor

'You deserve to walk into a space that is beautiful"

The annual Transgender Day of Remembrance was the ideal time for one Windsor non-profit to show off a new chapter.

W.E. Trans Support LGBTQIA2S Community Health and Wellness Centre officially held its grand opening at its new space on Tecumseh Road East near Moy Avenue. The event featured tours of the new space, a presentation, and a candlelight ceremony commemorating members of the transgender community who were lost to violence.

The centre offers plenty of space of one-on-one and group counselling and health facilities, including a private examination room. Addictions counselling is also offered, and Pro Bono Students Canada offers a free, periodic legal clinic for those transgender people considering name changes.

The Transgender Day of Remembrance is celebrated every November 20. It was begun on an informal basis in 1999 following the murder of Rita Hester, a black transgender woman from Massachusetts. The observance was officially recognized by the province of Ontario in December 2017.

During the candlelight vigil in the centre's library, the names of the victims were displayed by a projector as they were read aloud by participants. The vigil followed a thank-you message from Jayce Carver, the centre's executive director.

"This is what our community deserves," Carver told the standing-room-only crowd. "You deserve to walk into a space that is beautiful, because you are beautiful and you have a future. Thank you."

One invited speaker was Kayla Chadwick, who lost a transgender sister to violence in Toronto. Chadwick talked about how her sister appeared to become involved with the wrong crowd, and how local police were hesitant to dig deeper into her sister's death, which had been classified as suspicious.

Chadwick said there is still a long way to go as many people are still having a hard time accepting transgender people.

"There is still a great number who are unwilling to keep an open mind and be accepting of others who are different," said Chadwick. "I do find myself fortunate now to find myself surrounded by very supportive people."

Author Rick Prashaw, a former Catholic priest who wrote the book Soar Adam, Soar, made a stop at the vigil as part of a book tour. His transgender son Adam was killed in a drowning accident. He closed his talk by reading a passage describing the last communication Adam had with the world.

"'Reading his very final communication, yes, the selfie that he put up on Instagram two minutes before the seizure. The very last word Adam would ever communicate is his last hashtag. #Transgender.'"

The W.E. Trans Support Centre in Windsor, November 20, 2019. Photo by Mark Brown/Blackburn News.The W.E. Trans Support Centre in Windsor, November 20, 2019. Photo by Mark Brown/Blackburn News.

A standing-room-only crowd at the W.E. Trans Support Centre in Windsor, November 20, 2019. Photo by Mark Brown/Blackburn News.A standing-room-only crowd at the W.E. Trans Support Centre in Windsor, November 20, 2019. Photo by Mark Brown/Blackburn News.

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