Opinion Article printed in the Telegram and Gazette on Oct. 13, 2020

by David Connell

YMCAs have played an integral part in assisting their communities throughout the coronavirus pandemic. The YMCAs in Massachusetts have fed their neighbors, taken care of the children of essential workers, provided a safe and healthy outdoor space for youth to be this summer, and have opened community learning centers throughout the state. Our YMCA of Central Massachusetts, needs assistance from the state and federal government to help us continue providing support to our communities.

When the coronavirus pandemic began, the YMCA of Central Massachusetts saw a rapid increase in need from our communities, specifically around food. Our YMCA responded to this need by delivering and handing out 67,000 meals to the families and children.

We also responded by opening up four emergency childcare sites for the children of essential workers. We partnered with the state so that parents did not have to pay or worry about who was watching their children while they were on the front lines protecting our state.

This summer our YMCA was able to serve over 900 youth in our programs and summer camps. This was by far the toughest summer we have ever had. But we were able to provide a safe and healthy place for children to be outside, make friends, and in some cases have the best summer ever.

As schools have reopened in our service area, we are providing six spaces through our Worcester, Fitchburg, Southbridge and Westboro remote learning centers for children to be during the day while parents need to be at work. By providing these spaces for our families, we are meeting a community need that had never been there before.

All of these services take more funding than they have in the past. We have had a reduction in staff and a decline in programmatic revenue that we normally depend on to continue our community-based services. While we are trying to provide as much assistance as possible for our onsite remote learning centers, we know that parents were not prepared to pay for care during the day.

The increase in cost for PPE, cleaning supplies, new space, and retaining staff is challenging. The YMCA of Central Massachusetts calls on the state government to support the YMCAs $1.8 Million Youth-At-Risk line item. A sum that we typically match 12:1. This funding goes directly back into the community through our six branches, youth employment, and our childcare assistance.

We also call on the state government and federal government to find more funds to support the remote learning centers of Massachusetts. Parents did not budget for the costs of these centers and centers cannot reduce their costs because of staffing, space, and PPE. We need a pot of funding to be able to reduce this cost for parents and to help us find staff for these essential jobs.

The YMCA is a community anchor that is here for good. We are proud to have stepped forward to serve our neighbors during this time of need and will continue to do so as long as that need remains.

David Connell is president and CEO of the YMCA OF Central Massachusetts

Read the original article online at the telegram.com