MATTHEW SHEPARD FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF
HISTORIC WEB RESOURCE FOR LGBTQ YOUTH 

MatthewsPlace.com Launch Starts National Dialogue on Disenfranchised LGBTQ Youth with Local Events Throughout the Country 

DENVER, CO The Matthew Shepard Foundation today announced the launch of MatthewsPlace.com, a comprehensive online resource for LGBTQ youth in America.  The website is launched on October 12, 2007, the ninth anniversary of Matthew Shepard’s passing, with a series of local events throughout the country and an online video stream featuring Judy Shepard, executive director of the Matthew Shepard Foundation.   

“MatthewsPlace.com is a dream come true for the Matthew Shepard Foundation and hopefully for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and allied youth all over the country,” said Shepard.  “It is a safe online place full of critical resources and information, a place where LGBTQ youth can see themselves reflected in our society, feel affirmation, and gain insights to help them lead healthy, productive, hate-free lives.”

Designed with a great deal of youth involvement, MatthewsPlace.com features up-to-date national and LGBT news, advice columns from notable voices and affirming resources on issues affecting LGBTQ youth, and an information hub for youth to access critical resources such as safe and inclusive direct-service providers, homeless shelters, and youth-serving organizations. This is the first of three phases of Matthew’s Place. In the coming year, the website will expand to include more interactive and cutting edge elements such as blogging, moderated chats, expanded ‘ask the experts’ section, and individual youth spaces.

In connection with the launch, the Matthew Shepard Foundation and the National Association of LGBT Community Centers have partnered to host a conversation, via online video stream, with Judy Shepard about the realities facing disenfranchised and homeless LGBTQ youth in America..  More than 25 local events nationwide will celebrate the site’s launch and discuss critical issues facing LGBTQ youth.   For a full list of local events, visit http://www.matthewsplace.com/.

Mistreatment, violence, and harassment of LGBT young people is a pervasive problem.  According to GLSEN’s National School Climate Survey in 2005, nearly two-thirds of LGBT young people felt unsafe in school and over one-third had been physically harassed because of their sexual orientation.  And for too many youth the home is not much safer or more welcoming.  Some studies estimate that as many as half of LGBT teens experience negative reactions from their parents upon coming out, and nearly one-third have suffered physical violence by a family member. 

For more information about this new online resource, visit http://www.matthewsplace.com/. Matthewsplace.com was designed by Purple Crayons Interactive, Inc based in Evergreen, Colorado.

The Matthew Shepard Foundation was founded by Dennis and Judy Shepard in memory of their 21-year-old son, Matthew, who was murdered in an anti-gay hate crime in Wyoming in October 1998. Created to honor Matthew in a manner that was appropriate to his dreams, beliefs and aspirations, the Foundation seeks to “Replace Hate with Understanding, Compassion, and Acceptance” through its varied education, outreach, and advocacy programs. For more information, please visit www.MatthewShepard.org.