15 Shelters Compete in N.Y. Track Meet : Races Give Homeless Taste of Winning

The winners received trophies, but have no homes to display them.

While street people cheered and unfurled banners, homeless men and women from 15 municipal shelters competed against each other in a unique track meet in New York City on Wednesday.

The events ranged from the 100-meter relay to the one-mile run, with Mayor Edward I. Koch presenting prizes to the most valuable athletes.

First place in the hotly contested Inter-Shelter Track Meet went to Brooklyn’s Atlantic Armory, where 990 homeless men are housed each night.

“They find in strengthening their bodies, they are strengthening their minds,” said Frank Gonzalez, the armory’s director. “Just because they are homeless doesn’t mean they are helpless.

‘Dignity and Pride’

” . . . We try to instill dignity and pride. Just because you are poor and disenfranchised, you don’t have to turn your back on your potential.”

Joshua Ferris, who came to the shelter after leaving his sister’s apartment, ran in three events for the winning team.

“I never really ran before until I came here,” the 30-year-old former security guard said. “I feel great. The practicing proved we could do it as a team. Training for the track team has done a lot of good things for me. I was reluctant. I didn’t think I had it in me.”

“I want to keep running track,” said Arturo Richards, 20, who also had never run before and who said he would like to attend high school and become a professional boxer. “I figure I can be someone in the world.”

The Atlantic Armory won with a handicap: A star runner could not complete Wednesday. He had found a job.

“True champions never have it easy,” Koch told the 150 participants while 450 other shelter residents looked on at a high school in lower Manhattan. “They have to overcome adversity. And all of you . . . are showing that you aren’t giving up in adversity either.”

Increase in Homeless

New York operates 23 shelters for men and women, housing 9,463 people a night. The current population represents a more than 10% increase over the same period last year.

Almost three years ago, the New York Road Runners Club, which sponsors the New York City Marathon each fall, launched a program to help the homeless. Coaches sent to shelters to conduct clinics found that some of the homeless were interested in track and that some were former high school and college athletes.

“The biggest reward for the participants is the self-confidence gained,” said Angel Nunez, the club’s coordinator for the homeless. “They start regaining a feeling of their own self-worth.”

The Road Runners Club has received inquiries from Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit and Los Angeles about starting similar programs.

Runners placing first, second and third received prizes. The most valuable man and woman athletes were given plaques.

Trained Every Day

Members of the winning Atlantic Armory team trained seven days a week as the track meet approached.

“We do not have the staff with 990 clients to provide the day-to-day behavior modification,” Gonzalez said, “but on a group basis we can sit with them and identify there are some options. They come to the realization they can do something. We do have some who don’t make it, but all in all, they get this positive type of experience they don’t get every day.

” . . . This is a great moment for us. Some people bend or fall under pressure. Some people, given the right support, will rise to the occasion. These young men have demonstrated that.”