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When Natalie Salazar was 19, she wasn’t ready to come out to her family.
“I was afraid of even my own shadow because I just didn’t [see] any positive representation of queer Latinas in my family,” the native San Antonian said.
But one day, her girlfriend’s mother delivered an ultimatum: “Tell your family or I will,” she recalled.
Salazar left handwritten letters on her parents’ nightstands and braced for the fallout. Overnight, she went from being a “mommy’s and daddy’s girl” to feeling unsafe in her own home. Her grades at the University of the Incarnate Word plummeted as her mental health spiraled.
“My parents never kicked me out,” she said, but the wound of being cut off emotionally from her family was starting to fester. “I had to leave to survive.”
That’s when she discovered Thrive Youth Center. Thrive has 16 beds dedicated to LGBTQ+ youth inside Haven for Hope, the state’s largest homeless shelter and transformational campus. That accounts for 60% of all LGBTQ+ emergency shelter beds in the state. Thrive also provides services to 50 youth living in apartments. Thrive serves about 35 young adults per year on campus and about 115 through its off-site supportive housing program.
With the help of case managers who became like family, Salazar moved into an apartment, started therapy, and — most importantly — found acceptance. At 28 years old, she’s now thriving with a degree from UIW, a career in law enforcement, clear boundaries and full independence. She has also reconnected with her parents.
“I’m proud to say I was a Thrive kid,” she said. “They gave me the tools and courage to build my own life.”
On Oct. 11, National Coming Out Day, Thrive will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a “Deep in the Heart” brunch and award ceremony 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets and sponsorship opportunities, which directly benefit Thrive’s emergency shelter expansion, are available now.
“Youth that have the opportunity to live their true selves are less likely to become homeless,” said Thrive Executive Director Justin Holley. “That’s why we celebrate Pride and Coming Out Day.”
The nonprofit’s decennial is more than a milestone — it’s a launching pad to serve more youth, Thrive Board Chair Martin Keighley said.
“We always have 5-7 people needing beds that we don’t have,” he said. He hopes Thrive’s message and mission reach more people in San Antonio who may not be aware of it — and inspire them to give, volunteer or serve on Thrive’s board.
The vision, the conversation and the party
Thrive was founded in 2015 by Sandra Whitley, whose own coming-out journey shaped the mission. As a teenager in a small Texas Panhandle town in the 1970s, she was placed in a mental institution by her parents for being gay. Later, when she came out in college, her family disowned her for two decades.
Whitley’s personal history inspired her to create a safe space for LGBTQ+ youth who, like her, faced rejection and homelessness. Under her leadership, Thrive grew from a bold idea into the state’s only dedicated LGBTQ+ youth shelter and one of just a handful nationwide. She retired in 2023, leaving a legacy of compassion that continues today under the leadership of Holley, who took the reins in 2024.
A panel discussion, “Addressing Youth Homelessness,” will take place during the brunch. Whitley will be joined by Ryan Berg, author of “No House to Call My Home,” and Carl Siciliano, founder of the Ali Forney Center in New York and author of “Making Room: Three Decades of Fighting for Beds, Belonging, and a Safe Place for LGBTQ Youth.”
Beyond critical conversations, the anniversary brunch will feature a full program of inspiration and entertainment. Just after noon, guests will enjoy a cabaret performance by Tony Award winner and Broadway star Faith Prince of recent “BOOP!” fame.
The next 10 years
“We want to build on the strong foundation of these first 10 years,” Keighley said. “That means strengthening our financial security so we can expand our reach, add more emergency and transitional beds, and explore new models of care.”
That could take the shape of a permanent Thrive footprint beyond the Haven for Hope campus, such as a dedicated drop-in center, where youth can access services even if they don’t need housing, or more transitional housing for young adults to move out of — or avoid — homelessness.
“Housing is the first step, but it’s housing plus,” Keighley explained. “Our youth need emotional support, life skills, and community to truly thrive. This anniversary is about securing that future.”
The nonprofit aims to expand its base of individual donors and private financial support, as federal and state funding priorities shift. Ultimately, more community funding means the ability to offer more support with fewer external restraints.
“We have to find ways to be more creative, to do more with what we have in order to help these organizations meet the needs of their clients,” said Jesse Mata, a writer, designer, and board member for Fiesta Cornyation.
Cornyation, one of the most prominent LGBTQ+ events in the city, has increased its fundraising efforts over the years to give more back to organizations like Thrive, San Antonio AIDS Foundation, and BEAT AIDS.
It’s a cause that many in the community personally resonate with.
“When I was 17, I came out to my folks and I was immediately cut off in every way —financially, emotionally, socially,” Mata said. “I was nearly suicidal, nearly homeless. If I didn’t have friends to lean on, I would have been another queer homeless youth in the early ’90s. … That’s why Thrive means so much to me, because I know firsthand how different my story could have been.”
From Fiesta Cornyation’s longtime support to the voices of national leaders on the homelessness panel, Thrive’s brunch will bring together the best of San Antonio and beyond. It’s yet another “party with a purpose” that residents of this city have come to know so well.
“We want to give the youth what they deserve,” Keighley said. “They deserve not just to get along, they deserve to truly thrive.”
