WATCH: Does It Get Better for Trans People?

It Gets Better Project and Gender Proud have partnered to seek out stories that honor Transgender Day of Remembrance.

The It Gets Better Project has partnered with Gender Proud to produce a video for Transgender Day of Remembrance.

The video features a message from the founder of Gender Proud, Geena Rocero, who, after 12 years as a successful model, came out as transgender earlier this year.

Rocero recounts the history of the annual memorial for those lost to transphobia, which first began in response to the killing of Rita Hester in November 1998.

Rocero remembers those the transgender community has lost to violence, including Jennifer Laude, Islan Nettles, and Angie Zapata, but also points out all that has been gained: Laverne Cox on the cover of Time, Janet Mock’s televised schooling of Piers Morgan, and the New York magazine profile of Martine Rothblatt, the nation’s highest-paid female CEO.

"We know that we have come so far, because we have been able to rely on each other," Rocero says in the video below. "Together, our voices cannot be ignored. Together, we can bring support and visibility to the trans community. And together, we can inspire change."

Why is the Transgender Day of Rememberance important to you? Gender Proud and It Gets Better wants to know. Submit a video with a response to www.itgetsbeter.org/submitvideo.

And watch Rocero’s message, debuting exclusively at The Advocate, below.