Amid glimmer of hope, 'Save our YMCA' group looks for allies at city council

With possible good news about the organization around the corner, three members of the Save our YMCA group pressed city council to help them be a part of the solution.

Dr. Teryn Bruni, Kirsten Duke and Ali Dennie spoke as a delegation on Monday at the Ronald A. Irwin Civic Centre, bringing their ideas and hopes to the city’s decision makers.

Just prior to them taking the mic, Mayor Matthew Shoemaker made a somewhat cryptic statement about a possible solution that was presented to the Sault Ste. Marie YMCA earlier in the day. The statement was short on details, but offers one of the first glimmers of hope in an otherwise dark two weeks.

"There is a solution that was presented to the Y today that shows promise, but it will take some time to get through the various due diligence hurdles and to determine if it is viable,” Shoemaker said in his statement. ”We do not have firm timelines at this point, but either the Y or the City will provide any information it can as certain milestones are reached over the coming days and weeks.”

Bruni, Duke and Dennie presented council with the findings of the Save our YMCA town hall meeting, held on Saturday at The Machine Shop. The meeting included a work-shopping session, in which participants charted out short-term and long-term goals for the ongoing sustainability of the organization.

The presentation was part of the council agenda package, along with supporting research by Bruni, who is a pediatric psychologist, on the possible immediate and downstream effects of the closure — not to mention the financial cost.

Duke said the group has received hundreds of suggestions in the 13 days since the devastating April 16 announcement by the Sault Y, which warned if a solution is not found, it will cease operations as of May 15 — including the loss of 169 jobs and putting 541 daycare spaces at risk.

"We didn't know the situation had gotten so bad and we want the opportunity to step up to help our community,” Duke told council.

The group also called on the Sault Y's leadership to be more transparent about what happened in the months leading up to the snap decision to close the facility.

The YMCA, she said, is more than the sum of its parts.

“It’s not just a place for kids to learn how to swim or learn gymnastics," Duke said. "It’s not just a place for seniors to rehabilitate from hip surgeries or heart issues. It’s not just a place for people to have a safe place to shower and exist away from daily hardships. It’s not just a daycare entrusted with our littlest and most vulnerable citizens — it’s all of those things, and more."

The group is asking to be a part of the solution by requesting that at least one of its organizers be named to the working group currently working on the possibility of a continuation of services at the Y. It also hopes city council will be more proactive by creating a capital fund for social services to be more prepared for similar future crises. 

“We would like you to take this unfortunate circumstance as an opportunity and plan for it to never happen again,” said Duke.

Shoemaker noted the working group was not created by council and it is not in the position to add members, but said the Save our YMCA group can reach out to the working group separately for consideration.

Citing Bruni’s research, Duke told council the impact of a YMCA closure of the community would be catastrophic.

All three presenters are mothers who, at one time or another in their lives, were dependant on the services provided by the YMCA.

“We are all standing here today because we all share in the shock, confusion and concern of what the imminent YMCA closure would mean to our community,” said Duke.

Members of council lauded the organizers for their presentation and passion for their effort to help save the YMCA and its programming.

“Thank you so much for mobilizing, for bringing community together and doing it in a very professional manner and having really clear, specific deliverables,” said Ward 2 counsellor Lisa Vezeau-Allen. “I think that’s really how you move change forward and also hold other people accountable.

After the presentation, the members of council accepted an information report from the city’s director of community services, Brent Lamming, about the ongoing efforts to work with the YMCA on solutions.

Speaking to SooToday after the presentation, Duke noted she has a longtime family connection to the Sault Y because her grandmother Lois Benninghaus was, for many years, a lifeguard and, as the family lore goes, taught a young Roberta Bondar how to swim.

"All my childhood we went to the Y. My grandmother was an ardent — maybe feverish — volunteer at the Y, and she always had signed pictures of Roberta Bondar in her home,” said Duke.

Describing herself being involved for many years in community advocacy, Duke said she became involved in the group when she heard the news of the impending closure. 

"It's really important to be heard and to have the opportunity to be heard. I felt that it was really important that we provide public feedback today to counsel in person,” said Duke.

Bruni told SooToday that as a pediatric psychologist, she is concerned about the mental health infrastructure that is doing everything it can to support people living with mental health and addictions issues in the city, and what a closure at an organization like the YMCA could do to the community as a whole.

“These types of programs really lift a community out of that,” she said of the programming provided by the YMCA.

On a more personal level, Bruni said her family would be affected by the possible loss of daycare spaces if that service is not continued after May 15.

"I can't say enough about how wonderful they are and how much security I feel dropping my daughter off there,” she said. “I really depend on child care to be able to do my job.”

Dennie began the Save our YMCA group shortly after the April 17 members meeting in the building’s gymnasium.

"I really was personally affected and I saw in the room how many other folks were, as well,” Dennie said.

Dennie said she and the other two group organizers mostly got to know each other through the Facebook group and each brought their own knowledge and skills to the effort.

"We've really solidified our friendship, because we are all on the same cause and bringing different things to the table,” said Dennie. "So it's nice to have all of us to come together and hit it from all points.”