As a homeless teenager in West Hollywood, Matt says he survived by working as a street hustler. While this life was "not easy and it was not pretty," Matt says he didn't think his sexuality would lead someone to want to kill him.
But one day, Matt says, he was sitting in front of a building with three other guys when they heard a group of about a dozen people nearby. "When they said, 'We'll kill the faggots,' I knew we were in trouble," Matt says.
"I got up and ran. I made it to the alley. I went to the ground and they started kicking and beating and stomping. I really thought this was it. I was going to die a homeless kid and for no other reason than I was gay," he says. "The last thing I remember was a boot to my head and I was unconscious."
