Dad on a Crusade

For Mr Stanley, standing up in front of a crowd of youths brings back memories of Matthew. ‘‘It really is terrible,’’ he said. 

‘‘It’s very difficult and people say ‘how can you stand up and talk to people about this?’‘‘And I say ‘I want to come back six months or 12 months later and see all your faces, you’re not in the hospital or the cemetery or even in jail.  

‘‘Does it hurt, yes it does, I can see Matthew in every one of their faces when I look round.

‘‘I go to bed and wake up at 1 or 2am and think, what am I doing,’’ he said. 

‘‘But I don’t want to go to another funeral.’’ 

Mr Stanley said they had hundreds of youths supporting their foundation by fundraising and raising awareness in the community.
‘‘Matt was such a great kid and he did not deserve to be forgotten so his legacy is that hundreds of people are talking about this,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s not going to bring him back but we want to make sure other kids and their families don’t have to go through this.’’

He said they had also started talking to younger grades to educate them earlier rather than trying to change their attitude later.
‘‘It’s not like talking about someone who this has happened to, it affects the kids because I’m a real person who has been through this.’’

To find out more about the foundation,

visit http://www.matthewstanleyfoundation.com . a u / o r
h t t p : //www.crimestoppersyouth.com.au/ for the
Crime Stoppers Youth Challenge