Nov. 20 is Transgender Day of Remembrance honoring all those whose lives were lost to anti-transgender violence over the year. Nov. 13 to 19 is Transgender Awareness Week, raising the visibility of transgender people and addressing the issues they face. 

During the week and on Saturday, Nov. 20, local nonprofit TransPonder will have mental health professionals available to community members for free, virtual counseling sessions. 

From 2 to 4 pm, Nov. 20 Eric Richardson from the NAACP and Kyle Rodriguez-Hudson from TransPonder lead a Zoom community town hall on safety and Black identities.

All BIPOC community members, in addition to all trans/gender diverse community members and LGBTQIA+ community members, are welcome, the nonprofit says. Email info@Transponder.Community.com for the Zoom link.

Also on Nov. 20, from 5 to 7 pm TransPonder hosts an in-person Candle Ceremony at the Unitarian Universalist Church at 1685 W. 13th Avenue. There will be a candle ceremony and vegan food boxes from Yardy. TransPonder says on its website that due to the church’s social distancing guidelines, socializing will take place outside, so dress appropriately and bring masks. People will be rotated into the atrium for the participatory altar space in small groups to light a candle and pay respects.

At  5:30 pm there will be a proclamation by Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis, and at 6 pm a keynote address by Kyle Rodriguez-Hudson, TransPonder’s executive director.