Flo Perez has dreams. Perez is currently majoring in Substance Abuse and Addiction Counseling at Elgin Community College, he is a peer educator at the Wellness Center and was the former president of the student-lead club, Students Who Are Not Silent also better known as SWANS.

Every year on Nov. 20, on National Transgender Day of Remembrance, (TDOR), Perez thinks about all of the transgender people that were murdered in years past, and while it is important to him, Perez is also scared about also becoming a statistic one day.

“Its a very sad day for me, because it is a national day devoted to those who have been murdered, and whether it is obvious or not it is all hate crime, its also a scary day for me, since I am transgender, I could fall into those statistics and it is very nerve-racking to think of, knowing that there is still the risk of being ourselves and not coming back home one day,” Perez said.

As of the end of November 2017, twenty-five, transgender people have been reported to have been killed due to violence in the United States, with a large amount of those people being transgender women of color. They have been killed by acquaintances, partners and strangers, some of whom have been arrested and charged, while others have yet to be identified. These victims were remembered by Students Who Are Not Silent’s TDOR.

On Nov. 16 which was four days before TDOR, SWANS held a small event during one of their weekly meetings to remember those that were lost this year, the event was different from the usual meeting, the room was darker, candles were lit and the room was silent and solemn.

‘This was the first event I have ever hosted and it was amazing. I was so honored and proud to be in charge of this event. Especially since it is such an important day for transgender people and the LGBT community as a whole,” said Students Who Are Not Silent Publicity Officer, Justin Contreras.

Contreras then read off the names of those who were killed this year, with a bell being rung after every name.

“I hope the attendees learned how dangerous it is for many Transgender people in America and learn to love their fellow human no matter what they identify as,” said Contreras.

One of the main points that were said is the importance of educating people on what it means to be transgender to help prevent the numbers from rising.

“The reason why the numbers are so high is that there are a lot of people who are not well educated about the trans community. They’re afraid of something they don’t understand so they lash out in anger. So I think the best thing that our allies can do is try to educate people about the trans community, explain that we’re human beings like them and that we just want rights,” said SWANS executive chair, Harry Wells.

Perez gave some advice to allies on how they can help out the transgender community.

“Be more open-minded and seek education on transgenders, its as simple as talking to friends or friends of friends, going to SWANS meetings and just talking to people and genuinely asking questions that are not malicious, also there are things like safe zones that teach you a lot of things, and we even give you statistics,” Perez said.

For Students Who Are Not Silent Event Coordinator Jay Cortez, the event means raising awareness of what is going on in the transgender community.

“They are really morbid and upseting, but I am not suprised unfortunately, its common for transgender individuals in the community to experience harrassment on top of higher suicide rates and higher murder rates depending on where they are, what kind of environment they are in, so the statistics are unfortunately accurate enough to say that it is disapointing but I know that we can come back from this if we are able to reach out to people in our surrounding communities and talk to them and educate other people about this,” said Cortez.

One of the main reasons transgender don’t come out is because of those fears of being killed.

“Its never too late to come out, but there is never really a right time to come out, if somebody is in an unsafe space, they don’t have an obligation to come out, they do what they feel most comfortable doing, and when they find that friend group or that one person that they can come out to and that can give them the support they need, that friend is always going to be there for them, never lose hope, no one should ever be afraid to be who they are,” said Cortez.

Wells then gave some advice to his fellow transgender individuals about feeling safe in times of danger.

“I would tell them that there is a whole community out here that cares about them. You are not alone! It’s hard, I know. Reach out to close friends or people you trust for help. But don’t give up! It’s a hard long road ahead, but stay strong. It’s difficult but it can be done. And there will always be bad people that want to see you fail. Show them that you’re stronger than that,” said Wells.

Despite having the fear of being a statistic, Perez remains positive and hopeful and gives advice to others to be themselves no matter what.

“Don’t give up, don’t be afraid to show who you really are, because at the end of the day we are going through this transition to make ourselves happy, not to make anyone else happy and we need to prioritize our happiness above all and stay safe,” said Perez.