The people, purpose, and lived experiences behind our mission

Our Village

The village that shows up after.

Why The Village After Foundation exists

What happens after the funeral matters.

Tyler Steven Hawker · 07/10/96 – 08/22/22

The Village After Foundation was born from one of the hardest seasons of founder Sherron Ward's life.

When Tyler Steven Hawker was killed by gun violence, Sherron did not only lose the father of her children. She lost her partner, the future they had planned, and, for a time, her sense of who she was.

She suddenly had to learn how to become a single mother while grieving a loss she could barely understand herself. She was trying to remain strong for her children while privately feeling hopeless, overwhelmed, angry, heartbroken, and lost.

People cared and showed up in the beginning, but eventually the funeral ended. The calls became less frequent. The messages slowed down. Everyone else returned to their lives, while Sherron still had to wake up every morning and live in hers.

The part no one prepares you for

The after.

After the funeral.After everyone goes home.After you realize this is not something you are going to wake up from.

Sherron needed more than condolences. She needed someone who understood that grief can affect every part of a person's life. She needed guidance through counseling, financial assistance, programs, benefits, parenting, and the many decisions that can become overwhelming after loss.

Support for what comes next

A steady voice when the next step feels impossible.

Sometimes a family wants help but does not have the emotional capacity to search for it, understand every requirement, or make one more decision. The foundation was created from knowing how much it could mean to have someone sit beside you and help carry that moment.

Rebuilding has not been a straight line. This work was not created because Sherron has mastered grief or has every answer. It was created because she knows what it feels like to desperately need someone beside you while trying to find those answers.

You do not have to figure everything out today.
Here is where we start.
We will handle this one thing first, and then we will figure out the next thing together.

Meet our village

Different experiences. One shared commitment.

Sherron Ward created The Village After Foundation in Tyler's memory. Our board members stand beside that mission because they believe in its purpose; some also bring personal or similar lived experience. Together, they support the work of showing up for children, parents, relatives, and caregivers navigating what comes next.

Founder & Board Member

Sherron Ward

Sherron Ward founded The Village After Foundation in memory of Tyler Steven Hawker and from her lived experience of raising their children after his death from gun violence.

Her experience navigating grief, parenting, financial uncertainty, resources, and rebuilding became the inspiration behind the foundation's mission. Her vision is simple: families should not have to spend their hardest moments trying to figure everything out alone.

Through The Village After Foundation, she is creating the kind of support system she once needed - one that continues showing up long after the immediate crisis has passed.

Families deserve a village that remains present after the funeral and helps them take the next step.

JAPhoto coming soon

Board Member

Jacqueline Alvarez

Jacqueline Alvarez is a mother, student, advocate, and community-minded leader who understands firsthand how gun violence can reshape a family's life.

After losing her daughter's father to gun violence when their baby was only three months old, Jacqueline navigated grief and postpartum depression while caring for an infant. Her daughter became her reason to keep moving forward, and the support of her parents helped her begin rebuilding stability.

Jacqueline brings lived experience, compassion, and community knowledge to the foundation. She wants families to feel safe asking for help - without fear, shame, or embarrassment - and supported as they learn to navigate their new lives.

There can be sunshine on the other side of the tunnel. Families deserve support as they learn to navigate their new lives.

Board Member

Adrianna Hamilton

Adrianna Hamilton is a mother, small business owner, and compassionate community advocate who genuinely cares about the well-being of children and families.

As a business owner, she brings creativity, organization, resourcefulness, communication, and problem-solving to the foundation. She was drawn to the mission because it goes beyond acknowledging a family's tragedy and focuses on remaining present afterward.

Adrianna hopes every family feels seen, supported, and genuinely cared for. She wants them to have a safe place to grieve without judgment and receive help without having to figure everything out alone.

Families deserve to feel seen, supported, and remembered - with a village that continues showing up.

Together, we are the village

Being a village is not about having the exact same story.

Some of us know this kind of loss personally. Some have witnessed what gun violence can do to the people they love and the communities around them. Each person comes to this work with a different experience.

It is about choosing to show up.

It is remembering the children who are still growing up without their parent. It is supporting the parent, relative, or caregiver trying to hold everything together while grieving themselves. And it is making sure that when a family asks, “What do we do now?” they do not have to search for the answer alone.

That is the village we are building. The village that shows up after.