The West Cook Ymcas Inc

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. 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. Residents also have access to wellness benefits. In 2024, the wcy did not onboard new residents while we focused on maintaining the health and safety of our current residents.

Membership - the membership department is the gateway to the y, as they are the first to interact with our current and prospective members. The member engagement team serves the member by helping them navigate the y's services and programs to best fit their needs. We ensure all feel welcomed, connected, and engaged at the y. Team members listen and understand the collective needs of our membership and advocate on their behalf so that the y is always striving to best address the needs of the community through programs and services that help change the behaviors of individuals as they achieve their health and wellness goals. It is through membership that individuals and families have access not only to the y facility but to the many complimentary programs and amenities available to them.

Healthy living: the y is a leading voice on health and well-being as well as the inventor of group swimming lessons. We believe that every child deserves to know how to swim, and how to be safe around water. Aquatic activities are highly effective methods of supporting healthy lifestyles and a great source of exercise. 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 or improving aquatic skills. The y's area of focus is youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. In 2024, the y continued to offer swimming lessons and complimentary drowning prevention programs. We also continue to grow the competitive swim team and they were able to participate in swim meets during the seasons. We also prepared to re-launch our in-person chronic disease programming including our diabetes prevention program aimed at changing the lifestyle of individuals and reducing their risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes, weight loss program, and blood pressure self-monitoring program.