MILWAUKEE — Ladi Ananna remembers the first time she walked into the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center.
She said since she was a teenager, she has been able to utilize the center’s resources. Years later, she’s becoming more concerned about the very place she calls home.
“At this very moment, no, it’s not a safe place to live,” said Ananna.
There’s been a violent trend against people in the transgender community in Milwaukee. This comes after multiple trans women were shot and killed over the past few months. These deaths have sparked others to worry about their own safety.
Ananna said violence is impacting the city on every level and she said it’s only getting worse.
“There’s another conversation that has to be had when it comes to vulnerable marginalized communities, like the Black and brown trans community, where the impact of violence is more detrimental to our community,” she said.
She works alongside other community advocates like Elle Halo. Halo is a LGBTQ health equity advocate in Milwaukee. As a Black woman in the trans community, she said safety for trans people in Milwaukee is a concern.
“It makes us all have existential questions about our safety, about what it is to be both Black and trans, about what policy, protection and support looks like,” said Halo.
She said it’s important to check on the trans community in your life, whether that’s their mental health or their access to resources.
“We are trans women, but we are also human beings. We are people that contribute, live, grow, work, love and have grown up in the Milwaukee and Wisconsin community,” said Halo.
Ananna said she believes actual change can only happen from within. She said that starts with seeing the humanity in one another.
“We are all someone’s child, we are all someone’s loved one,” she said.
She hopes that can spark change to create a more positive community.
For additional resources, visit https://www.diverseandresilient.org/resources/trans-resource-list/ or https://www.mkelgbt.org/.