The West Cook Ymcas Inc

Programs: Youth and family development - our ymca is committed to nurturing the potential of every child from cradle to career through physical, social-emotional, and cognitive development. In all of our youth development programs, we strive to help each child achieve a greater sense of well-being: specifically in the areas of achievement, relationship, and belonging. We believe that these three elements are vital to a young person's development and character and can help them be the best version of themselves. We welcome individuals into a supportive community, bring families closer together, and foster good health and connections through fun, physical, and healthy social, and leadership activities. Our goal is that our programs have a significant impact on each individual's life in a meaningful way. That can look different for each participant. It can be the pre-literacy skills that our preschool students master in their years in our program. It can be the sense of belonging that a young child feels here that they do not experience at school or at home. It may be the realization that another adult, besides their single parent, really does care for them and wants what is best for them. It could even be finally having a willingness to try new things after doing so in a safe space, like the y where they will not be judged for their attempts.

residence program - single-room occupancy (sro) units have served a critical need of providing affordable housing for low-income and formerly homeless individuals for over a hundred years. Sros are individual units with shared bathroom facilities. The sros are critical assets which provide preventative services for residents to maintain housing and stave off poverty and/or the potential loss of employment. Most individuals that seek out sro housing have incomes at or below the poverty line. As stated previously, the west cook ymca is the only single-room occupancy program in the western suburbs. It addresses the need for affordable housing in the oak park area. As a result of this program, individuals have the opportunity to access affordable housing so that they can explore more sustainable/independent housing. They also obtain referrals, advocacy, life skills training, and housing transition support as part of the supportive services for residents. Residents also have access to wellness benefits. The west cook ymca began to shift its model of support for residents of the single-room occupancy program to tailor individual service plans (isp) for each of its residents to develop plans to address their unique needs. Over the course of the past two years, there are has been a great deal of progress in completing these individual plans. In addition, there has been an increase in the number of former residents finding permanent housing. However, there is still room to move the program to the next level and expand the reach of the resident program services to a larger population.

membership - the membership program is designed to connect to, educate, and engage the current and future members of the west cook ymca. Membership is the gateway to all ymca programs, and the purpose of the membership program is much more than someone paying monthly dues in order to come and work out. The membership department is the entry point for which people are connected to all of the other programs and services that the y has to offer. As a result of this, the membership department serves as the member advocate by listening to the needs of the collective membership, as well as the community at large in order to help drive the collaborative behavior of the leadership team at the y to help address their needs by creating programming that will allow people to achieve their health goals along the nine dimensions of well-being. As a y member, you have full access to the general y facilities. We offer many classes every session at no additional charge to members, as well as premium classes and programs to help you find your niche at the y.

aquatics/swimming - the y is a leading voice on health and wellbeing as well as traditional and reliable provider of swim programs. We believe that every child deserves to know how to swim, and that aquatics are highly effective in supporting healthy lifestyles. Our swimming and aquatics programs not only provide life-saving water skills to young people and adults, but they also provide opportunities to gain self-confidence and build a foundation in physical skills which can support a personal health program that can be maintained at all ages and fitness levels for a lifetime all while having fun in the water. Both youth and adults gain a tremendous sense of self confidence and self-worth when learning to swim and improving aquatic skills. The y's area of focus is youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. In 2017 we provided swim lessons for 2,886 youth and adult, and an opportunity for 565 kids from 6-18 to engage in competitive swimming where they learn life and leadership skills in self discipline and character values espoused by the ymca; caring, honesty, respect and responsibility.