SAVE Inc Welcomes Judy Shepard

SAVE Inc. Welcomes Activist and Mother of Matthew Shepard, Mrs. Judy Shepard

KANSAS CITY, MO (2019)

SAVE, Inc., a leader in providing comprehensive housing solutions to socially and medically disadvantaged people for more than three decades, is pleased to announce that activist and equal rights trailblazer Judy Shepard will be their guest speaker at the No Place Like Home fundraising event on Wednesday, May 8th, 2019.

In October 1998, Judy and Dennis Shepard lost their 21-year-old son Matthew to a murder motivated by anti-gay hate. Their ordeal moved thousands of people around the world to attend vigils and rallies in Matthew’s honor. Determined to prevent their son’s fate from befalling others, Judy and Dennis established the Matthew Shepard Foundation to carry on Matthew’s legacy by embracing the just causes he had championed. Later, Judy spearheaded The Matthew Shepard Act, which expanded the federal hate-crime law to include crimes based on gender and sexual orientation.

Shepard will speak to the mission of SAVE, Inc., the need for acceptance, and discuss what individuals and communities can do to make this world a more accepting place for everyone regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, and expression.

The author of the best-seller, The Meaning of Matthew, Judy offers an intimate look at how her life and the entire fight for equal rights changed when her son was killed. With a name now synonymous with activism and equal rights, Judy leaves an indelible imprint with her words, compassion and raw honesty as she urges audiences to make their schools and communities safer for everyone, regardless of race, sex, religion, or gender identity and/or expression.

The public is invited to join SAVE, Inc. on Wednesday, May 8th at Studio Dan Meiners, 2500 W Pennway Place, Kansas City, MO, 64108. Individual tickets are $50 per person and sponsorship packages are available. For more information, please visit http://savenoplacelikehome.org/

About SAVE, Inc.

SAVE, Inc. was founded in 1986 by courageous volunteers who recognized the dire need to provide people with AIDS who had lost their homes, a place to die with dignity. With few resources and a firm belief in the need to help others, these volunteers established SAVE Home in midtown Kansas City, the first AIDS-specific hospice in the state of Missouri. What began 30 years ago as an eight-bedroom hospice, SAVE Inc. has since expanded its campus to include seven residential buildings making up 66 units, and to providing housing and housing solutions to over 900 households every month in 15 counties on both sides of the state line. Because of these efforts, SAVE Inc. has become the largest processor of tenant-based rental assistance vouchers in Missouri. SAVE Inc. has expanded its mission to include people with a dual diagnosis of homelessness, poverty, serious and persistent mental illness, substance abuse disorders, and/or HIV/AIDS. For more information, please visit www.saveinckc.org.

Photo Credit: Brian Rice