By: Margaret Leary

Margaret Leary — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 12:06:35 +0000

My story would have been stronger with background on the involvement of the Ann Arbor YMCA in Ypsilanti, so here it is: That began about six years ago, after the Washington Street facility was complete. The Y’s Executive Director, Kathi Duchon, told me they got involved because there is no city recreation department in Ypsi, and the Y wanted to provide activities for kids. There were no physical facilities, so they turned first to the schools with their gyms and outdoor fields, for sports. Later they added dance, yoga, and cheerleading. However, there are limits, she said: small gyms they could use only right after school.

A year ago, the Ypsilanti City Council approved letting the Y use city parks to provide recreational opportunities for local youth at no charge in 2012 and 2013. Long ago, Duchon said she raised the idea building a Y facility on the Water Street site; only now is that coming to fruition.

So, Duchon said, the Y continued to expand the programs it provides in Ypsilanti, Most recently, the Y has begun to offer programs at senior housing downtown and in Willow Run—all within the “east county” area. There are now, she says, many models nationally in which Y’s partner with cities, counties, hospitals, and other non-profit entities which own buildings but don’t have the resources to operate them for recreational purposes.

The Y pays for these programs with its general revenue, and recently received a $70,000 grant from the Michigan Department of Community Health to underwrite its work in Ypsilanti and Willow Run. The Y also provides scholarships for lower-income families.

The City, WCPARC, and the Y will work together to determine whether and what arrangement might work for the Eastside Rec Center.

Comments on: County Awards Trail-Building Grants

By: Margaret Leary