I’d Settle For A Fraction
Nine years ago Russell “Yeti” Snare was a happily engaged man ready to share his life with a woman he loved. Standing at 6’3” and 310 pounds it seemed like nothing could stop him. Due to certain incidents though, all those hopes and dreams came crashing to a halt. He was sentenced to prison and after many changes to his original ruling, he was released when he maxed out his jail time in 2012. Since then, he has had a much different life than the one he had back in 2006. One big difference is that now he is homeless.
“Have you ever slept on concrete?” asked Snare. “Neither have I, but I’ve laid enough on concrete to know that you don’t sleep well on concrete.” Snare said that the only reason he has not had to sleep on the ground is due to a homeless program known as Out of the Cold. The Centre County branch of the food and shelter program tends to hold up to 15 homeless people at a time. The program allows these people to eat two meals a day, breakfast and dinner, and to have a place to sleep at night. OOTC is a part of a team of churches that rotate every two weeks to shelter these men and women.
“The weather has been getting frigid at night, so without Out of the Cold, a person with my health problems wouldn’t make it. So for that, I am eternally grateful because I’m in my home area. That means the world to me.” He also said that there are other programs he attends as well that provide him services during the day, like a place to stay warm and a lunch. Snare said that this program is just what he needs to get back on his feet. He is a self-proclaimed computer geek and would like to one day make a job out of that; but cannot currently afford his own computer.
“I am currently looking [for a job]. It’s not exactly easy when you have one of these cards. That is an inmate ID.” Snare said that his incarceration has severely limited him from receiving a job. Although his charges were not felonies, he is honest with potential employers about his record. Snare said that he is has always been brutally honest and that it is a code he lives by.
Snare said that he is not devout, but does actively practice the Catholic faith. He carries around his bible with him every day, and it is not a small bible either. He said that his favorite verse is Mathew 25. In this verse, Jesus explains that if you have clothed or fed those who have less, it is like you have helped him. He said that this verse means so much to him because he feels this is what the State College community has done for him. “People can walk all over you, or just walk past you, but here at this school and in this community I have never received so many hugs. Sometimes all you need is a simple conversation, and the people here give me so much more than that.”
