Hi KGC1984,
Thanks for contacting Apple Support Communities!
We understand that your contacts are seeing an alert that your Messages are silenced, correct?
If you don't have Focus enabled, you can check that your messages aren't silenced. You can open Messages and view the list of Messages. If you swipe left on one of the messages, you can see if the message was silenced or not as outlined here: Use Messages on your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support
"Turn on Hide Alerts
- Open Messages.
- Swipe left over the conversation that you want to mute.
- Tap the Alerts button .
When Hide Alerts is on, the Alerts button appears next to the conversation. This stops notifications only for that conversation, not your device. You’ll still receive all other messages and see notifications for them on your Lock Screen."
We hope this helps you.
Take care!