A MEMORIAL service will be held this month to highlight transgender suicides.
Reading Pride’s MyUmbrella LGBT+ project has held a Transgender Day of Remembrance Vigil since 2015 to remember lives lost.
This year’s event will take place on Saturday, November 20. A small private gathering of community leaders from across the Thames Valley will be streamed on the organisation’s Facebook and YouTube pages.
Christina Dearlove, co-founder of MyUmbrella+, said that the event is important to raise awareness of the issues trans people face.
She said: “I can understand why so many trans people are drawn to suicide because I’ve been there a number of times myself.”
Speakers at the event will include Cllr Jason Brock, leader of Reading borough council, and Asifa Lahore, an openly transgender Muslim drag queen.
Reading Rock Choir has recorded a special performance at Reading Minster for the event. Lucy Hewes, choir leader, said: “Music is a powerful way for us to connect with each other and to reflect on those who are no longer with us.”
For more details, visit: tdor-reading.org.uk
