Officials of the Chattanooga YMCA said they have closed all branches and are turning their focus on meeting community needs.
President & CEO Janet Dunn said, "This week, the YMCA of Metropolitan Chattanooga made the difficult decision to close its 4 main branches (Downtown, Cleveland, Hamilton and North River) for an estimated two weeks. The decision was made from an abundance of concern for its members and community, along with CDC guidelines.
"However, the organization is now shifting focus on how to repurpose its physical buildings and resources to meet community needs during this season.
“It’s unfortunate that our closing for two weeks has disrupted everyone’s routines. We wish that were not the case, but the Y is more than the services that are physically seen in our buildings. We have a long legacy of meeting community needs and now is when we put that into action as a change maker.
“Our members play a vital role in the work we’re doing,” said Dunn. “They enable us to do this work for the good of the community.”
The Y plans to focus on the following community needs:
• A partnership effort to provide healthy meals to kids in the community at nearly 70 sites between March 17-27. While the Y currently has plenty of volunteers in place, anyone who wants to help can donate by texting YMEALS4KIDS to 41444.
• Repurposing buildings to become Community Response Centers which will offer daycare services to healthcare workers’ children. The Y will serve healthcare workers at Tennova, Parkridge and Memorial hospitals. Registration will begin today on site at the hospitals and the daycare/camp services will begin at Y locations next week. Staff training will be administered by a physician and special precaution will be put in place to take temperatures of all staff and children daily, as well as increased cleaning efforts practiced.
• Increased communication with the Y’s most vulnerable population, its Seniors. The Y will make concerted efforts to reach out to its senior population and ensure they are not isolated and have the services and support they need. While the above community efforts are running, the Y is still staying engaged with all members, providing them with virtual healthy living options, and encouraging members to stay with them during this brief closure.