Sarah Joy Albrecht holds many titles, including wife and mother, retired doula and founder of the 501(c)(3) non-profit Hold My Guns, an organization that provides voluntary safe storage for firearms by partnering with FFLs throughout the United States. She started Hold My Guns after a young adult friend in Sarah’s circle tragically died by suicide with a firearm. Sarah writes, “Working with Second Amendment attorney Joshua Prince, who coordinated with the ATF to ensure regulatory alignment, Hold My Guns established one of the first lawful frameworks for FFLs to offer voluntary firearms storage.”
“Hold My Guns is not simply a list of FFLs published on a map. Every partner we list has consented, been vetted, and agreed to operate under our standards so firearm owners can be confident they are entrusting their property to businesses that are prepared, trained and committed to serving with dignity and respect.”
Sarah is a certified Range Safety Officer as well as a certified Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) Institute Gatekeeper Instructor who provides training to recognize and safely react to signs of a potential suicide. She also volunteered extensively with a youth rifle league connected to the Civilian Marksmanship Program while her children participated. Even after a move, Sarah still helps at youth rifle league events whenever possible, and she’s excited to volunteer at the range closest to her now. While she’s currently working on her MantisX 10 Elite setup for dryfiring practice at home, Sarah also is personally active on the range and continually pushes to improve her shooting skills.
A strong woman of faith and active in her local church, Sarah thoughtfully practices hospitality and love for her community through leading a book club for homeschooling mothers, creating care packages and hosting events like her annual pig roast. Learning about other people’s experiences is important to her, and Sarah says, “I often return to C.S. Lewis’s words in ‘The Weight of Glory’: ‘There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.’ That reminder helps me love people more deeply and approach each encounter with humility, joy, and seriousness of purpose – whether in family life, community or the pursuit of justice.”
At home, you can find Sarah exploring the outdoors with her five young adult children, enjoying coffee or her occasional “guilty pleasure” of partaking in a cigar or pipe near the warmth of a campfire. One of her favorite sights is a rainbow after a storm passes, and she loves cooking for large congregations, foraging in the woods, gardening and rescuing plants in need of a little care. She lives with a curiosity and wonder for life while treasuring the opportunities God gives her. As you’ll see in Sarah’s answers to our six Gal Gab questions, everything this nurturing woman does is rooted in intention and care.
What does a typical day in your work life look like?
Every day looks a little different, but I love to begin with prayer – thanking the Lord for the new day and offering it back to Him. After that, I lift weights and go for a quick run, then care for our chickens and meat rabbits, check the trail cam footage from our woods and enjoy a cup of coffee while reviewing the day’s schedule and praying for the meetings and people I’ll be interacting with. Many of the people who reach out to me – whether seeking storage for themselves or referring others – are facing difficult situations, and it is essential to me to first entrust them to the Lord and to approach my work with intentionality. What brings me joy is serving, and I am so grateful for each day; I do not take life for granted. This year marks a new season for our family, as it is the first since 2005 that we are no longer homeschooling; our youngest daughter graduated in May 2025.
My workday might include reaching out to potential FFL storage partners and sponsors, designing resource lists for our current partners, creating content for social media, preparing for a speaking engagement or firearms-related testimony, or doing prep work to teach suicide prevention certification classes to firearms instructors. I also meet with community collaborators to share about firearms storage options and how we can equip people to make voluntary, responsible, life-affirming choices that respect rights.
My husband works from home, and we make it a point to have lunch together when our schedules allow. Sometimes we’ll grab a bite while running quick errands. Evenings are for family dinners with our young adult children who still live at home, reviewing plans and logistics for the next day and often, a few more hours of work before I wrap up with evening animal care and prep for the next day. I usually fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow; I’m grateful for the chance to do it all again tomorrow.
What’s the #1 piece of advice you would give other women who want to break into your field?
Bring your life experiences to the table. Every season of life equips you with wisdom that is valuable here. It is beautifully feminine to be grounded in the principle that life is worth nurturing and protecting. For discerning women, carrying a firearm every day and being mindful of defense is simply a natural extension of those principles. Because carrying is part of daily life, every experience you’ve had can bring a meaningful angle to the conversation. Looking back, I never set out to run a nonprofit in the firearms community. But I cherish that every chapter of my life prepared me for this role. Growing up in the home of a U.S. Marine Corps Vietnam veteran taught me respect for rights and the importance of owning my choices – living with discipline, principles and tenacity. Becoming a wife and mother, teaching firearms safety to children and serving as a doula and childbirth educator all deepened my love for life and gave me the ability to walk humbly with people through life’s changes and hardships. When our family lost an 18-year-old friend to suicide by firearm, that experience drove me to pioneer a solution: voluntary off-site firearms storage that saves lives, protects property and preserves rights.
To women coming into this space: honor your experiences, show up wholeheartedly and don’t be afraid to lead with conviction. Your perspective matters, and this is a community that needs women who bring both strength and heart.
What motivates you?
Ensuring that people have access to the educational and practical resources they need to make life-affirming choices motivates me. Growing up with food and housing insecurity – and at times being treated without dignity by the very systems that were supposed to help – shaped my perspective and gave me compassion for others. It also impressed on me the importance of solutions that honor people’s humanity. I’m committed to approaches that respect both life and liberty. Tools like the Hold My Guns Personal Safety Plan follow these principles and help people exercise agency, especially when situations are still manageable without outside intervention.
Too often in the prevention space, well-intended efforts have the unintended consequence of taking away rights. And when solutions like Hold My Guns don’t exist, even intervention professionals are sometimes left without good options to offer. That’s why it’s so important that Hold My Guns continues to grow – adding more storage partners, expanding training and creating new resources to meet people where they are. The most motivating part for me is hearing from people who’ve used our service and knowing they are alive today and thriving because of it. While we never ask why someone seeks storage, people often share their stories with our team. We know it has helped in countless situations: going into a shelter for homelessness or domestic violence, after a flood or fire at home, during deployment, while away at college, when there’s mental illness in the home, or while caring for foster children, grandchildren, or other guests who cannot be around firearms.
Every time I hear one of these stories, I’m reminded that this is not just my work, it’s our community’s work. The more people who join in, the more lives we can reach.
What is the most unexpected thing you’ve learned while working in your career field?
One of the most unexpected, and toughest, lessons has been realizing that not everyone in firearms industry circles truly prioritizes rights. That may sound naïve, but it was eye-opening. From a brand perspective, I’ve learned the critical importance of situational awareness – listening “spidey sense” – especially when approached with requests for quotes or photo opportunities that can later be repurposed to create the illusion of gun-owner support for agendas that undermine our community. I now make it a rule to ask directly about the full scope of how our brand will be used.
At the end of the day, my highest responsibility is to serve the firearms community faithfully and maintain its trust. Brand integrity is everything. The same principles that apply to protecting a brand in any sector apply here: thorough vetting of potential partners, examining their messaging, reviewing their materials and ensuring alignment before lending credibility to their efforts. Every decision and strategic direction must be firmly anchored in preserving rights—rights that are not political talking points but fundamental liberties exercised by a diverse community.
By contrast, I’ve also seen the unmatched power of solutions that are created within the firearms community itself and stand firm on liberty without compromise. That kind of authenticity doesn’t just resonate; it builds trust, strengthens relationships and creates lasting effectiveness. I’m profoundly grateful for our board and partners who embody these principles and are genuinely committed to protecting both life and liberty.
What is your favorite product in the outdoor or shooting market right now?
My favorite product is my PHLster Enigma holster, which facilitates deep concealed carry. As a mom, I’m often around children and teens, and it gives me confidence to know that my firearm isn’t printing – or even, noticeable. When I used to carry on my hip, people would sometimes brush against my firearm during a hug and pull back in surprise. With the PHLster, that doesn’t happen, and yet my firearm stays exactly where I need it to be should I ever need to protect myself or my family.
Let’s have some fun … What weapon would you use to battle a giant?
I don’t think I’ve ever been asked that before, but after years of reading fairytales to my kids, I’ve noticed that giants rarely live up to their reputations. In stories, they tend to be bumbling and easily outwitted. If I had to face one, I’d probably set up a diversion and guide them into a clever hamster-wheel trap that turns their size into something useful – like generating electricity or moving heavy objects.
But life brings us real giants, too, and they’re not always so easily tricked. Scripture reminds me of Caleb, Joshua, and David – people who trusted the Lord when they faced giants and chose faith over fear. That lesson still holds even for today’s proverbial giants. My first “weapon” is always prayer, grounding myself in God’s strength. We can train, prepare and be disciplined – and we should – but at the end of the day, it is the Lord who provides the victory. When one person faces a giant with courage, it encourages others to do the same.
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If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.
Madeleine Golob, formerly “Anna,” is our intern at the “Women’s Outdoor News,” and manages the “Gal Gab” column. She also pens features and takes care of our Pinterest activities. Madeleine is a high school student who loves to write, read, study her family’s genealogy and play any musical instrument she can get her hands on. She also enjoys working Action Pistol matches while her parents compete and dreams of becoming a historian and writer. View all posts by Madeleine Golob
