Artist Jonah Welch has a message for Detroit: Trans people are sacred.

The message sits on a billboard — Welch’s first installment — on East Seven Mile and Kempa Street in the Sherwood neighborhood, and was curated by Detroit artists Ellen Rutt, Playground Detroit, and Save Art Space.

Welch shared the installment on their Instagram page with the caption, “For somebody out there, this could be a rescue flare. All gratitude to my trans/two-spirit/and non-binary indigenous peers esp @infinitedakota for carrying this knowledge through colonization, and for sharing with me this phrase. When I first heard it, it lit my heart on fire.”

Trans women are disproportionately affected by high rates of violence, and have an average life expectancy of 35 years. Yet, Detroit’s trans community remains a major contributor to the local art scene and beyond.