Matt found out he was HIV+ in the late 1970s. In October of 1982 Matt, Nancy Cole Sawaya, Ervin Munro and Max Drew met at an emergency meeting at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center to discuss GRID, or Gay-Related Immune Deficiency (an early name for AIDS). The action taken afterward forms APLA and its first service, the hotline, housed in a closet at the Gay and Lesbian Community Service Center.

Realizing that funds were needed to educate the community and prevent the spread of the disease, Matt and his friends enlisted the help of other friends (who became many of APLA's early volunteers) and held a Christmas benefit. The party raised more than $7000, which was the seed money for a new organization.

Shortly afterwards, a steering committee was elected. Recognizing that AIDS was not just a gay disease, the founders decided to name the organization AIDS Project Los Angeles. The first Board of Directors was elected on January 14, 1983.