Overcoming Prejudice

When he was 13 years old, Matt came out to his family, telling them that he was gay. His mother's response shocked him.

"She said, 'Well, if that's what you believe you cannot live in my house,'" Matt says. "The next thing I knew, I was standing on a street corner alone with the bag that she packed. I felt that I wasn't even worth living on this planet if your own mother can throw you away for something that you can't change, that you can't do anything about."

He says he soon found himself living on the streets in West Hollywood.