Sharon Herrera, left, and her wife, Marcel
DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writer
Taffet@DallasVoice.com
LGBTQ S.A.V.E.S. Founder and Executive Director Sharon Herrera stepped down from her position earlier this month, passing leadership of the organiztion to its program director, Bertie Gardner.
Herrera led the organization for 15 years after stepping up to create the program herself.
Herrera works for Fort Worth ISD, and said through her job, she has seen the effect homophobia has on LGBTQ+ young adults. She said she created LGBTQ S.A.V.E.S. to be an advocate for them and in memory of nine LGBTQ+ youths who died by suicide that year.
Those deaths “reminded me of a pain I was all too familiar with,” she told Dallas Voice in an earlier interview. “Having contemplated my own suicide, I knew things had to change and that we needed a community where all children are safe.”
In a press release, the transition from Herrera to Gardner was noted as an important moment in the organization’s history.
“Sharon’s leadership and passion built an organization grounded in the belief that LGBTQ+ young people deserve to be seen, supported, affirmed and given the opportunity to thrive. Her vision, advocacy and dedication have created a foundation that will continue to shape the organization for generations to come,” the press release said.
Herrera sent us some thoughts about LGBTQ S.A.V.E.S. and the young people it serves.
Dallas Voice: How did LGBTQ S.A.V.E.S. get started? Sharon Herrera: LGBTQ S.A.V.E.S. was founded in September 2010, after a series of highly publicized LGBTQ youth suicides across the United States. Having survived my own suicide attempt at age 16, I felt compelled to create a space where LGBTQ youth could feel safe, supported and welcomed.
When people ask how LGBTQ S.A.V.E.S. started, I always smile because the truth is so simple: It began with a handful of friends in my backyard. Not a boardroom. Not with a grant. Not a strategic plan. Just me, a few friends who believed in supporting LGBTQ youth and young people who needed somewhere safe to exist and thrive!
What are the services you offer? LGBTQ S.A.V.E.S. offers a focused set of programs designed to support LGBTQ youth in Fort Worth and beyond. Our services center on safety, mental health support, community connection and access to affirming resources. Our community events are Pride-focused gatherings, educational workshops and social events that create safe spaces for youth to celebrate identity and build community.
We also offer resources for our families and LGBTQ youth caregivers.
How has it grown? And how widely accessed are your services? From that tiny beginning, the organization has grown in ways I never imagined. Today, LGBTQ S.A.V.E.S. offers structured weekly youth meetings, family support groups, mentorship, school advocacy, resource navigation and emergency assistance. None of this came from big funding — it came from listening to youth and responding with care.
People often assume we’re a large, well-funded organization because of our visibility and the number of youth we serve. But the truth is, our impact is big because our community is strong — not because our budget is.
What kind of pushback do you get from FWISD, if any, and has the takeover of the school system affected how the organization can operate? Even with pushbacks, even with the recent state takeover, even with political pressure: We still serve youth. We still show up. We still save lives.
Our community partnerships keep us strong. Our grassroots foundation keeps us flexible. And youth continue to find us — because they need us!
I started LGBTQ S.A.V.E.S. in my backyard with a handful of friends because kids were dying. I didn’t wait for permission then, and I’m not waiting for permission now.
Is there one story that sticks out in your mind about how LGBTQ S.A.V.E.S. has saved someone? There are many moments in this work that stay with me, but one of the moments that stays with me forever came from an intern who once worked with us. She reached out to tell me that her 27-year-old son had just come out to her.
“He told me he chose to come out instead of taking his life … because he watched how I served LGBTQ S.A.V.E.S. and how I talked about my work,” she said.
Her son saw her show up for our youth. He saw her love them. He saw her fight for them. That moment reminded me that our work reaches far beyond the youth who walk through our doors. It reaches the ones watching quietly from the sidelines — the ones who are still afraid, the ones who are holding their breath in the dark, waiting to learn whether acceptance is real.
Thanks, and do you have any final thoughts to share about LGBTQ S.A.V.E.S.? LGBTQ S.A.V.E.S. is the space I needed when I was 16 and the space I refuse to let any young person go without. I built this organization so no child has to survive what I survived alone.
When tragedy reminded me of my own struggle, I chose to build hope, I didn’t start LGBTQ S.A.V.E.S. because it was my dream — I started it because lives depended on it.”