November 20th is Trans Day of Remembrance; a recognised worldwide event and a moment to remember all those who lost their lives through violence in the past year across the globe. Sadly last year the number of names rose to over 300 and this year the violence is even closer to home with the horrific murder of Naomi Hersi in London in March. Hate Crimes against transgender people are up by almost 40% and many trans+ people live in fear of violence and rejection by their friends and families. Trans+ people often struggle constantly with suicidal feelings with around half of those who are transgender attempting suicide. Tragically, we have all been touched by the loss of loved ones who didn't win the fight.

Southampton is an inclusive city, one which is working hard to come together against all forms of Hate Crime. Chrysalis is proud to be part of the 'SOLoveNotHate' campaign which launched on 13th October. No one should be afraid to be who they are; to be authentic is to reach your potential. It is testament to the inclusive and cooperative nature of Southampton that we have the pleasure to announce a series of events in recognition of TDOR centred around Guildhall Square on the evening of 20th November.

Working together Chrysalis, the Souths leading trans+ support charity; Breakout Youth; The Art House; Southampton Pride; The Stage Door; The London Hotel; The Edge; Solent University; University of Southampton; the Hampshire LGBT+ network; Southampton City Council and Live Nation want to both remember those we have lost and to look toward an accepting future.

The evening will begin at 5pm with a gathering at The Art House where we'll be listening to tunes from Hunting Hearts. Please come along, have a piece of cake and a drink and collect your candle for the vigil.

A Candlelit vigil will then be held at Guildhall Square between 6:30 7pm where we will be reading the names of all those lost to violence over the last year .

We issue an open invitation to anyone who wishes to remember a lost trans+ loved one perhaps by displaying their picture or reading their name, speaking a poem about them or show everyone something which epitomises them or speaks your loss. We recognise that for some people even in death they cannot be out, a moments silence will also be held for those whose names we can never speak.

From 7pm there will be a Remembrance and Pride event at The Stage Door and from there you can carry on the evening at one of the affiliated and LGBT+ affirmative venues (The Art House, The London Hotel, and The Edge) who will all be recognising TDOR in their own ways. You can find more information on our Facebook event page here .

The lights on the Guildhall Steps will be representing the trans flag and Southampton City Council are behind our #FlyTheTransFlag campaign and will be flying the flag all week.

Chrysalis works tirelessly to tackle isolation and feelings of loneliness for trans+ people in Hampshire and Dorset. We need your support to be able to continue to offer our much needed services; providing one-to-one counselling, support and wellbeing groups and support groups for significant others - keeping families together.

For Transgender Day of Remembrance 2018 we are asking you to get behind our #FlyTheTransFlag campaign and purchase one our TransFlags; sharing a photo of your flag flying half-mast, on 20th November.

For a £21 donation we will post you a trans flag* and, if you choose, we will list your business, organisation or name as an ally on our website.

We can also offer a limited number of discounted Trans+ Awareness courses for your business or organisation if you make a donation of £50 or more.

Any donation you can gift us towards our campaign will help us to continue to make a difference by offering inclusive help and support. We were recently told:

We want everyone to feel safe ad included in our local community and not feel like they constantly risk being the victim of hate crimes. So join us this Trans Day of Remembrance and #FlyTheTransFlag to demonstrate you're an ally of the trans+ community.

If you don't want a flag, but would still like to support the campaign and our work please make a donation today. Thank you.

*post within UK only.

We also have a small number of A Gender, Gender Queer, Trans Masculine and Non-Binary flags available.