diff --git a/wpilibc/src/main/native/cpp/Alert.cpp b/wpilibc/src/main/native/cpp/Alert.cpp
index 79037ae1248..dc6a70accc3 100644
--- a/wpilibc/src/main/native/cpp/Alert.cpp
+++ b/wpilibc/src/main/native/cpp/Alert.cpp
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ Alert::SendableAlerts::GetActiveAlertsStorage(AlertType type) const {
 
 std::vector<std::string> Alert::SendableAlerts::GetStrings(
     AlertType type) const {
-  auto set = GetActiveAlertsStorage(type);
+  auto& set = GetActiveAlertsStorage(type);
   std::vector<std::string> output;
   output.reserve(set.size());
   for (auto& alert : set) {