European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 5, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse New York outward bound participants Rig a sailing ship during a Confidence building course. Outward bound goes Urban by Jules Loh associated presso n a Wall in he Smalt office at Rudy Rodriguez a Leader of outward bound. Hangs a detailed map of the wilderness his charges in isl conquer in Pursuit of survival through sell Confidence. This Challenge is particularly Tough. The map is of new York cily. America s Large cities Are Asphalt Jungles All right. Al least in metaphor Bui few More than a Quarter Century in America outward sound has evoked images of Well heeled executives and Well scrubbed youths in. Expensive hiking boots breathing clean air on faraway mountains. / so what s a Nice program like tha doing in a place like this /. La s Long overdue says Rodn gues or would appear so from the results o our Usi is no Experiment. We re committed now. And going Al actually Rodrigues says Urban Fulward bound programs Are a return o first principles. The organization was founded to Leach resource ulness 1 Confidence compassion perseverance and self esteem but tried the Ideal of service As Welt. It s not easy to stress the in the wilderness to says the traditional schools Cater to the More privileged so this is a shill from the traditions. In the City to Servo. Our focus Rit jul now is on inner Coly. Youth and the homeless advocate for the by Nancy Shulins associated pressm itch Snyder remembers cruising up Iho bowery in Mew York As a boy car windows tightly closed per his lather s Insu Schons. To keep out. The i i Snyder abandoned the family when his son was 9 hurl and angry Milch Ovied never to do to his kids what his lather had done to him a year or so Falcor his teacher asked him in front of his Sal Nuich classmates Why his toes poked Oil Tho ends of his shoes m Hal mom chs Milch Snyder or med his future i vowed to be another marco1 i decided then and there i would push real hard no to have holes in my Shurj j Over again " Arrianna s Champion of the hone Ess has a pail no with cosmic sit Eer years Afler his lather weft cd Oulu Snyder quit a lucrative Job As a Audi sati Avenue headhunter and Tell his own Wilo and iwo sons to subsist on welfare and food s lamps. Twenty years 1 later he has just the one pair of boots Liko the jeans he wears and the Lood he eats when he s nol on one of his a eff publicized , the Are donations so too Are the cars he occasionally drives through people avoid. The men and women he finds there sleeping on Healing grates and harvesting meals out of trash cans often Greet him by name Mitch Snyder never did learn to Roll up his windows. For the Pasi i5 cais he has dedicated Himsel to liberating people who Are to thai end no one has garnered More newsprint forced More hands or coaxed morn Cash but anyone Lem pled to pin any medals on. Rwm should Lake heed Snyder is a reluctant hero i was called by Sorne Force outside myself says Snyder who has Smice been to Gwen by hrs family j m convinced that in i had a Choice i would t be doing this it s hard to argue Al told he has spent two of his 45 years fasting and another year steeping on sidewalks. Now he is imbued with new of Linsom alter 15 years of Chipping Way Al the american homeless Snyder and others at the lore front of the struggle May finally be Gaff King ground. Recent polls indicate 3 greater desire to help others. A new president is on the Fob a hew decade is coming. I honestly believe George Bush is a nicer person says Snyder believe Ronald Reagan was Nice personally but his politics were mean spirited he was an almost impossible adversary nol Only was a made of Teflon bul he was made of magic and Charisma Bush does t have that magic and he has less Power to oppose changes Snyder is convinced things Are changing listen to the music of Tracy Chapman of 02. They Are harbingers Al a shift in mood there s a 30-year Cycle. The. 30s. The 60s, Tho 90s we be jul Alcorne through the we decade i think people have gotten sick of living Only for those Taysi san Dor makes his Home in Washingion in the 1,100-bed shelter on second Succo. Once a University of the District of Columbia building Hal the Reagan administration agreed to Reno a be Only Afler Snyder embarked on a say hunger strike May mailed away 60ppunds.in i934. The shelter Aiso is Home to other members of the Community Lor creative non violence a former anti War group turned advocates or the homeless. Therein no payroll everyone volunteers commit Imran runs High bul Shis is hardly Utopia next to sharing living space with one s compatriots Knytler says starvation is easy America s apathy toward the homeless stems largely Iron fear Snyder thinks they re a reflection of us. We to All vulnerable. We have to keep Tho Moss Rigai at Bay " that in t to say americans Are uncharitable he says bul Given a Choice most people help victims of earthquakes in than i Chirris olt ederal housing policies in their own a Tejral disasters , do nol Call into question our values and our lifestyle homelessness obvious answer especially in cities teeming with Street people is to Render the homeless invisible. Snyder walked away item Middle class America in 1969. After waking up one night literally in a cold a High school dropout who sold washing machines before talking his Way into a High paying Job As an exec Ulryco Recruiter Snyder Gol Mai died and had twp children before he realized he was t Cut out Lobo a Amily Man. He be out to Imd himself and wound up m Federal prison of an Auto theft charge while serving Lime Al Danbury. Conn., he got to know Daniel and Patrick Bornean. In prison for destroying draft records Snyder joined the two priests Artelt War group Mado up of prisoners who roused logo to Vietnam to also studied the Bible and non violent protest and read a Book a Day for 2vi cais after his release in 1972, Snyde joined an atm War group in now York Ihen moved to Washington a year later to 0in conv in Irmo he Bays homelessness by came the Rio mosaic couple part to Page 16 the stars and stripes sunday March 5,1989
